Lucknow, Aug. 5 -- Reacting to the stormy proceedings on the second day of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly's Monsoon session on Tuesday, Opposition parties accused the BJP government of deliberately sidestepping a discussion on the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Leaders of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress claimed they had submitted notices seeking a debate under relevant assembly rules but were denied the opportunity.

Speaking to the media after the presentation of the supplementary budget, senior SP leader and MLA Shivpal Yadav alleged that "an atmosphere of dictatorship prevails in the House" and that the session had been convened "solely to facilitate the plundering of the budget." He insiste...