Congress, BJP MLAs accuse Raj Assembly Speaker of caste bias

By Archana Sharma Jaipur, March 16 : In a first in the state, the Speaker of the Rajasthan Assembly has been accused of discriminating against Congress and BJP MLAs belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and religious minorities by the lawmakers themselves, who alleged that their voices are being suppressed in the House.
In the last few days, MLAs from both the Congress and the BJP have accused Speaker C.P. Joshi of discriminating against them by not allowing them to raise their voice on the burning issues, besides allotting them seats without microphone in the House with an intention of suppressing their voices.
The Congress MLAs who have raised the issue include Sapotra MLA Ramesh Meena, who was sacked as the Food and Civil Supplies Minister during the political crisis in July last year, Dausa MLA Murari Lal Meena and Chaksu MLA Ved Prakash Solanki, who alleged that the state government is trying to suppress the voice of the legislators representing the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and minority communities.
On Monday, BJP MLA Madan Dilawar also joined the Congress lawmakers and accused Joshi of making caste-based discrimination in the Assembly.
However, Joshi has refuted the allegations, saying that he treats all the Assembly members as equals. “I have never judged anyone based on their caste,” he said.
Meanwhile, Meena has made an open announcement that he would not hesitate to resign if the problems of the MLAs are not addressed. He also sought a meeting with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to discuss the matter. Accusing the ministers of following caste based discrimination, he said the ministers don’t meet MLAs such as Ameen Khan and Babulal Bairwa due to their caste.