Opposition BJP MLA Mr M Bhorot today questioned the "secular credentials" of the Secular Progressive Front government over finding a copy of the Holy Bible on each of the tables of the Assembly when they stepped into the House for the Budget session today.
An angry Mr Bhorot raised this in a "point of order" soon after Zero Hour, accusing the Speaker of trying to "Christianise" the House by placing the Bible there.
Quoting House rules and procedure, Mr Bhorot argued that any paper which had nothing to do with the proceedings of the House is not allowed to be tabled by the Rule of procedure.
Another Opposition leader, Mr 0 Joy, asked if the Speaker had allowed the tabling of the Bible. He said while he was not against the tabling of the Bible per se, such an act was unparliamentary.
The Speaker, replying to the "point of order", said he had received a request for free distribution of the Bible by a group of MLAs this morning and saw nothing wrong in the act. The Speaker also cited the example of two MLAs who had tabled a Bible and a Gita each in the House in 1990.
But the Opposition says it was caught
by surprise by the act, and said they would raise the matter again after
referring to the rules and procedure.