Five-time Congress MLA Karan Singh Dalal has been suspended from the Haryana assembly for one year after he and the Leader of Opposition and INLD chief Abhay Singh Chautala hurled abuses at each other and then went on to indulge in a ‘shoe-fight’ during a heated last day of the ongoing assembly session.
The Speaker of the house Kanwar Pal Gujjar had to call the marshals to control the members present in the assembly. The speaker then suspended Dalal after a resolution for his suspension was moved by Haryana Finance Minister Captain Abhimanyu, which was promptly supported by INLD. The minister had moved the resolution against the Congress MLA for allegedly using derogatory language and misconduct. It was passed by voice vote in the assembly.
According to the reports, Dalal had a heated exchange with Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader Chautala, which incidentally went out of control as Chautala advanced towards Dalal with a shoe in his hand, while Dalal also took out his shoe against the Leader of Opposition Chautala. The speaker had to call the marshals to prevent both members from hitting each other from shoes. The Congress members present in the assembly, including former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, held Dalal’s hand to stop him from hurling shoes at Chautala.
It is reported that Karan Singh Dalal used an objectionable word, which the ruling BJP legislators objected to and was later expunged. State ministers Anil Vij, O P Dhankhar, Manish Grover and Captain Abhimanyu criticised Dalal for using the objectionable word that would “bring disrepute for Haryana”. They claimed that Dalal had not only insulted the House but the entire 2.5 crore population of the state.
Karan Singh Dalal, after getting suspended came out of the assembly and said he would approach Punjab and Haryana High Court against his ‘illegal’ suspension and questioned why there was no action against Chautala. “I was not granted an opportunity to explain things and no ruling was given by the speaker whether the world was parliamentary or unparliamentary,” Dalal said.
Bhupinder Singh Hooda lashed out at the government saying that BJP was misusing its majority in the House. “If Mr. Dalal has said something, I and my party apologise on his behalf. I have also been a four-time Lok Sabha MP and am a four-time MLA, but never before have I seen such a situation where opposition MLA is suspended without being given a chance to explain his side,” Hooda said.
