As chaos unfolded in the Gujarat Assembly, independent MLA Jignesh Mevani and 14 Congress legislators were suspended for a day, and forcibly evicted by marshals for unruly behaviour.
Some of the suspended MLAs of Congress include Imran Khedawala, Geniben Thakor, Amrish Der, Puna Gamit, Babu Vaja, Naushad Solanki and Pratap Dudhat.
Mevani and the opposition MLAs had taken to the floor of the house to call attention to the issues concerning agitating government employees, farmers, Anganwadi workers and ex-servicemen.
They carried signages and placards bearing words such as "give justice to employees", "give justice to forest staff", and "give justice to ex-servicemen".
The protests erupted after Speaker Nimaben Acharya refused the Leader of Opposition, Sukhram Rathva's request to hold a special half-hour discussion on the issue.
"When so many employees of almost all the departments are agitating over their pending issues, why is the BJP not ready to hold a discussion in the House?" asked Deputy Leader of Opposition, Shailesh Parmar, amid continuous sloganeering by his party colleagues.
MLAs Lifted & Carried Out, 30 More Stage Walk Out
The day-long suspension came after the agitating MLAs refused to go back to their seats.
As the MLAs refused to leave the House even after they were suspended, the Speaker called in Assembly sergeants to forcibly evict them, news agency PTI reported. The marshals moved out most of the suspended MLAs by holding them by their hands.
Meanwhile, some law-markers were physically lifted and carried out. The move resulted in at least 30 other Congress MLAs to stage a walkout.
Reacting to the ruckus and the suspension, Congress MLA Naushad Solanki said, "People have issues with ruling government and they're protesting. When we're asking for a discussion on it (in the House), BJP is trying to run away from it. They fear that if there's a discussion, it'll unmask their truth. So they've got us suspended."
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