Uproar in Rajasthan Assembly over smart metre installation Jhalawar roof collapse incident

    Jaipur, Sep 3 (PTI) The Rajasthan Assembly on Wednesday witnessed an uproar over the issue of smart metre installation and the death of seven students due to a roof collapse in a government school in Jhalawar district.
    The Congress staged a boycott during the Question Hour over the reply of Energy Minister Hiralal Nagar over the issue of smart meter installation. The opposition party alleged irregularities in the project.
    The day's proceedings began with questions on "toxic" water from flood-hit Punjab entering Rajasthan's canal system, but quickly turned stormy as Congress members raised the issues of smart meters and the Jhalawar school tragedy in July, in which seven students were killed.
    Congress MLAs alleged large-scale irregularities in the smart meter installation, raised slogans in the Well of the House and accused the government of corruption.
    Nagar countered the charges, stating that the smart meter installation decision was taken by the previous Congress government in 2023 through a Cabinet circular.
    He said tenders were awarded in compliance with rules and no blacklisted company was involved.
    "It was the Congress that introduced the scheme. Why raise objections now?" he posed.
    As Nagar spoke, Congress legislators staged a walkout and returned to their seats later. They also accused ministers of making statements in the house during the absence of the opposition.
    Leader of the Opposition in the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly, Tika Ram Jully, challenged ministers to debate directly rather than "speak like thieves".
    After the opposition's walkout, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jogaram Patel condemned the opposition members' behaviour. "It has become their habit. They are protesting the scheme (smart meter) which they brought (while in power)," he said.
    During the Zero Hour, the opposition created uproar over the Jhalawar incident and demanded the resignation of the education minister.
    Congress MLA Suresh Gurjar described the death of seven students in the roof collapse incident as "murder" and asserted that accountability has to be fixed.
    The opposition members stormed to the Well of the House in protest and started sloganeering. During the uproar, Forest Minister Sanjay Sharma walked towards Jully, rolling up his sleeves.
    However, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jogaram Patel and Social Justice Minister Avinash Gehlot intervened and prevented the situation from escalating.
    Amid this, Speaker Vasudev Devnani adjourned the House till 2 pm.
    After the House adjourned, Congress MLAs staged a protest at the porch of the assembly building, raising slogans against the government over dilapidated school infrastructure and the Jhalawar incident.
    The Congress legislators entered the House on Wednesday wearing black armbands and accused the BJP government of "ignoring" the Jhawalar tragedy by not paying tribute to the deceased students.
    They also demanded the resignation of the education minister.
    After the House reassembled at 2 pm, the speaker took up the listed business and the Rajasthan Coaching Institute Control and Regulation Bill-2025 was moved.
    Congress MLA Shanti Dhariwal strongly opposed the bill, arguing that it "encourages bureaucracy" without addressing the root cause of student suicides.
    "How will this bill stop student suicides? There is no concrete provision for that," he said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)