Patna, March 30: Labour minister Vijay Prakash's alleged role in the state's only diamond cutting unit shutting operations rocked the Legislative Council today.

The Opposition bayed for the RJD leader's scalp while his party leader's sprang to his defence.

Senior BJP leader Sushil Modi had yesterday alleged that the Rs 600-crore unit in Patna shut operations because Prakash had demanded money. The minister had admitted he had visited the unit a month before it shut as part of an "inspection" but denied the bribe-demand charge.

During Question Hour today, BJP MLC Vinod Narayan Jha said: "Vijay Prakash threatened the diamond cutting unit and demanded money. Bihar already has no industry and now the lone diamond factory has shut; it raises serious questions over the setting up of industries in the state."

The Opposition leaders demanded setting up a probe committee over the incident and a clarification from the government.

Later, during Zero Hour, Jha again demanded Prakash be sacked. Other BJP MLCs echoed the demand, and the chairman adjourned Zero Hour because of the uproar.

The BJP MLCs trooped outside the Council building and shouted slogans including "shame shame".

"We demand immediate action on the minister as he has also accepted that he had visited the diamond factory for inspection," Sushil Modi said outside the Council building. The BJP's Prem Kumar, leader of Opposition in the Assembly, said: "Ever since Nitish has formed the government, extortion has increased manifold. The chief minister should immediately sack such a minister."

Deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav came to Prakash's defence saying that Sushil was trying to malign the RJD through false allegations."The double standard of the BJP has come to light, the company closed its unit in Bihar because their financial condition was not good," Tejashwi said on the Assembly premises, with Prakash by his side.

Prakash said: "Sushil Modi has made a false allegation against me, I never demanded any money. It's true that I had visited the unit but not to demand money but to listen to the grievances of the Bihari labourers who were not getting their due wages. The factory closed because its financial condition was not good, I am going to file a defamation case against Sushil Modi."

Yesterday, an official of the Shrenuj Group that owns the unit had told The Telegraph that the minister had demanded a lot of money to allow the unit to keep functioning, but had also added that the unit was not getting enough orders for its diamonds..