Rajasthan Assembly Speaker Vasudev Devnani has condemned the alleged "abusive language" used by former minister and senior Congress MLA Shanti Dhariwal against the presiding officer during the house's proceedings.
Speaking to the media, Devnani said that it was a matter of great concern that a senior leader and former minister had used such language against the presiding officer on the floor of the Assembly and that he would give his decision on the matter on Monday after consulting with the state's Parliamentary affairs minister.
"This has not been the tradition of this House. I will give my decision on this after watching the entire video myself and discussing it with the parliamentary minister and others ...," Devanani said.
On Friday, July 26, Dhariwal purportedly said, "... Arre tum Kota ke ho b*****, Kota me rehna hai ke nahi tumhe? (You are from Kota b****, do you have to live in Kota or not?)," while addressing the presiding officer of the Assembly.
After the incident, BJP MLA Shrichand Kriplani raised the matter before the Assembly Speaker Vasudev Devnani and said during the debate on grant demands, Dhariwal used "abusive language" towards the presiding officer.
Kriplani said the dignity of the Rajasthan Assembly has fallen due to such "unparliamentary language". He demanded strict action against the Congress MLA.
Responding to this, Devnani said this is indeed a very serious matter. It is "reprehensible and shameful" that such words came out of the mouth of a senior MLA, who is a former minister, he added.
Another BJP MLA, Gopal Sharma, said that strict action should be taken against Dhariwal to set an example for other MLAs.
The budget session of the Rajasthan Assembly is underway.