Guwahati, May 11: Assam Congress legislators today staged a walkout from the Assembly after Speaker Hitendra Nath Goswami rejected their notice to move a no-confidence motion against irrigation minister Ranjit Dutta on allegations of corruption.

Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia and 14 other Congress MLAs had served a notice to the Assembly's principal secretary, Mrigendra Kumar Deka, on Tuesday, expressing their desire to move a no-confidence motion censuring the conduct of Dutta under rule 133(1) of the Rules and Procedure and Conduct of Business in Assam Legislative Assembly.

Dutta landed in a controversy after irrigation secretary Kujendra Doley, who was caught red-handed while taking a bribe from a contractor in his office at the state secretariat on March 28, reportedly named him.

Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti leader Akhil Gogoi also alleged that Doley has been collecting money from contractors on behalf of Dutta.

The Speaker today said he had perused the notice served by the Congress MLAs to move a no-confidence motion against the minister and found it to be "not in order, which cannot be acted upon". He said a copy of the motion was not furnished with the notice, which is mandatory.

The Speaker's ruling infuriated the Congress MLAs who protested vociferously.

Parliamentary affairs minister Chandra Mohan Patowary sought to calm down the Congress MLAs by saying that though the Speaker had rejected their notice, the government was ready to table a statement in the House. He said the government has adopted a zero tolerance policy against corruption.

This, however, failed to pacify the Congress legislators who staged a walkout, accusing the Sarbananda Sonowal government of compromising with corruption.

Citing media reports, Saikia said the chief minister had reportedly summoned officials of the vigilance and anti-corruption bureau who are investigating the case against Doley and interfered with the investigation, which, if true, is a matter of serious concern.

Congress MLA Abdul Khaleque also accused the government of not being serious about curbing corruption. He said there was a vast difference between the BJP-led government's words and actions.

Saikia told reporters outside the House, "The government is not sincere about its slogan to make Assam corruption-free. We had demanded Dutta's resignation till the inquiry is completed but it apparently fell on deaf ears."

The Congress MLAs said they had sought to move the no-confidence motion to expose the government's "selective drive" against corruption.

Since coming to power last year, the Sonowal government has arrested officials from several departments and also quizzed former Congress ministers in a few cases.

Later in the afternoon, when Patowary stood up to read out the government's statement, the Congress MLAs again walked out of the House despite the Speaker requesting them to listen to the reply.

Patowary took a dig at the Congress by citing how veteran leader Tarun Gogoi had responded when he was the chief minister. "I will not order any inquiry, the former chief minister had said, despite us in the Opposition then raising issue of anomalies in the irrigation department. Why will they listen to the reply now? They know the level of anomalies during their reign."

Patowary said the Sonowal government has zero tolerance towards corruption as a result of which a senior official (Doley) was arrested from the secretariat and his office and residence were raided.

"Our government is committed to a corruption-free, militancy-free and foreigner-free Assam. This has not changed," he said.

Defending Dutta, Patowary said there was no evidence against him so far.

"What has Dutta done? Has he intervened in the investigation or has he tried to prevent action against his officer? We cannot share details of the probe against Doley as it will hamper investigation. Our drive against corrupt practices has seen corruption fall by 33 per cent in less than a year of the Sonowal government taking charge, according to a survey. I reiterate that the government will continue its drive against corruption," he added.