Raipur, July 23 (IANS): As many as 35 Congress legislators were suspended from the Chhattisgarh assembly Thursday for shouting slogans near the speaker's chair and disrupting the proceedings of the house. The suspension was revoked after 10 minutes.
The opposition legislators were demanding the resignation of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Chief Minister Raman Singh for failing to curb Maoist violence in the state.
Those suspended included Leader of Opposition Ravindra Choubey and former chief minister Ajit Jogi.
But Speaker Dharamlal Kaushik revoked his order after 10 minutes and asked the opposition members to attend the house for a debate on Maoist attack, but Congress legislators did not turn up.
Choubey told reporters later that Congress will not allow the house to run till Raman Singh puts in his papers owning moral responsibility for the July 12 Maoist attack in Rajnandgaon district in which 29 policemen, including the district police chief, were killed.
The Congress has been disrupting the assembly since the monsoon session began July 20. The house was adjourned July 20 and 21 amid uproarious scenes by Congress legislators.
In a 90-member house, BJP has 49 members, Congress has 38, and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) two while one seat is vacant. The monsoon session is scheduled to conclude July 31.