Patna, Aug. 2: The Assembly witnessed uproar on Tuesday over RJD MLA Saroj Yadav's allegation that he had been threatened by the district education officer (DEO) of Bhojpur for raising a question related to irregularities in the appointment of teachers in that district.

The RJD MLA made the charges in a supplementary question when he raised the issue during Question Hour. Senior BJP leader Nand Kishore Yadav was on his feet instantly, demanding that Speaker Vijay Choudhary announce immediate action against the DEO.

"This is a serious charge. The rights of a member of the House are being threatened," Saroj said, asking the Speaker to announce a House committee to probe the matter.

The Speaker said he was willing to initiate action.

"But such issues are not raised during a supplementary question," he added. "Let the MLA inform me formally in my office. I will look into the matter."

Even though the BJP MLAs stood up to demand immediate action against the education official - a demand RJD MLA Bhai Virendra supported - Choudhary stood his ground and took up another question.

In response to Saroj's question, education minister Ashok Choudhary replied that the report sent by the Bhojpur district magistrate has indicated that there had been no irregularities in the appointment of teachers. "But I will ask the DM to re-examine the case again," Choudhary said.

This sparked a war of words between Choudhary and leader of the Opposition Prem Kumar.

Prem said the DM must have relied on the DEO for the answer. "How can the DEO be expected to carry out a fair investigation when he is also a suspect?" Prem asked, insisting that the education department was full of scandals.

Choudhary retorted that he had streamlined the department.

In response to another question raised by BJP MLA Vinay Kumar Sinha, the education minister declared that there was no proposal from the state government to hold a state eligibility test for appointment of lecturers and the state government relied on the National Eligibility Test (NET) for eligible candidates.

Vinay alleged that around 90 per cent of the candidates for the ongoing recruitment of lecturers were from outside Bihar.

Replying to a question by Tarkishore Prasad of the BJP, the education minister blamed the central government undertaking Hindustan Paper Corporation for delay in printing of textbooks for students from Class I to Class VIII in government schools. "We are searching for an alternative supplier," the minister said, alleging that the central company's delayed supply of paper led to delay in the printing of books by the Bihar Textbook Corporation.

The BJP MLA had pointed out that even five months into the new school session, a large number of students had not been given text books meant to be distributed free of cost in government schools. He alleged that rampant corruption in the Bihar Textbook Corporation resulted in the delay.

During Zero Hour, the BJP raised the issue of atrocities against Dalits in Bihar. Prem Kumar rattled off incidents of attacks on Dalits and alleged that the Nitish Kumar government had failed to protect the weaker sections of the society. BJP members trouped into the well of the House, forcing the Speaker to adjourn the House half an hour before schedule.