The deadlock in the Rajasthan Assembly over a Minister’s remark on former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi continued on Tuesday, with the Opposition Congress MLAs boycotting the proceedings of the House. All the Congress legislators staged a dharna outside the Assembly’s gate when the security personnel stopped six suspended MLAs from entering the premises.The Question Hour, legislative business and the debate on the State Budget were taken up in the Assembly in the absence of the Congress members and the House was adjourned till February 27 in the evening. Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot was among those who sat on the dharna.Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Avinash Gehlot had referred to Ms. Gandhi as Aapki Daadi (your grandmother) while replying to a question on February 21. The MLAs were suspended for the remaining period of the budget session after they stepped on the Speaker’s dais allegedly in an aggressive manner during the uproar in the House.Speaker Vasudev Devnani said during the Assembly proceedings that the MLA and Pradesh Congress president, Govind Singh Dotasra, had “insulted the chair” with the use of “inappropriate” words amid the deadlock. Mr. Devnani turned emotional while speaking and said Mr. Dotasra did not deserve to remain a member of the House after his conduct.Education Minister Madan Dilawar and Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Gopal Sharma urged the Speaker to terminate the membership of Mr. Dotasra, while other members of the ruling party and some Independent MLAs condemned the incident. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jogaram Patel said action would be taken as per the rules.Mr. Dotasra told journalists during the dharna that there was no discussion about his personal apology in an agreement reached before the Speaker and he, along with two senior Congress MLAs, had expressed regret over the sequence of events. “On the other hand, the Minister’s objectionable remark has not been removed from the proceedings and he has not apologised so far,” he said.The State Congress chief said the BJP was not interested in ending the impasse because it wanted to avoid the debate on its failure to provide good governance and fulfil its promises. He said the ruling party wanted to escape from discussing the people’s issues in the Assembly because of its internal conflicts.Published - February 25, 2025 11:41 pm IST