The Speaker’s decision on Friday followed a protest by Samajwadi Party (SP) MLAs who displayed black flags and black hydrogen-filled balloons, demanding dismissal of the Mayawati government for its overall failure in running the state. They burst a few balloons and released others that stuck to the Assembly ceiling. The Speaker also directed the Home department to conduct an inquiry as to how the balloons were brought in and burst inside the hall.

SP members began their protest as soon as Governor T V Rajeswar started reading his address during a joint session of the legislature. Members of the Congress and the Rashtriya Lok Dal also displayed anti-government banners. Several SP legislators stood on the tables of Assembly reporters. The Governor was able to read only the first and the last line of his address amid pandemonium. Chief Minister Mayawati left the House in a huff and summoned top officials in the Speaker’s chamber after the House was adjourned.

Cabinet Secretary Sashank Shekhar Singh, Chief Secretary P K Mishra and Principal Secretary (Home) J N Chamber were questioned over intelligence failures, as the security establishment had no clue about the possible pranks played by the SP members. Later, officials met the Principal Secretary of the Assembly, Rajendra Prasad Pandey, to assess the situation.

Condemning the incident, the Speaker said: “This incident has not only hit the dignity of the House and the state Governor but is also a serious issue from the security point of view, so it has become unavoidable to take some tough measures to prevent the recurrence of such incident. MLAs can be frisked if needed.”

The Speaker added: “The security setup (of the Assembly) should be like that of the state Secretariat and will be handed over to the SSP of Lucknow.” He assured the dignity and honour of members would be maintained despite these security measures.