Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Assembly was adjourned thrice Saturday due to a ruckus by opposition BJD and Congress members over Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s statement on job scam during the Naveen Patnaik government and Adani issue.
While the pre-lunch session proceeding was disrupted due to a demonstration by the main opposition Biju Janata Dal MLAs who demanded a clarification from the CM over his Friday’s statement that government jobs were sold during the previous regime, the Congress members demanded a judicial probe into the Adani “bribery case” in the afternoon session.
The House could function only for about 15 minutes throughout the day before Speaker Surama Padhy announced adjournment till 10.30 am on Monday.
While introducing the Odisha Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024 in the assembly on Friday, Majhi alleged that massive irregularities happened in government recruitment during the previous BJD regime and jobs were sold for lakhs of rupees.
He alleged there were irregularities in the recruitment of assistant section officers (ASOs) and junior engineers.
BJD condemned the statement and asked the chief minister to prove the charges or withdraw his statement made on the floor of the House.
As soon as the House assembled for Question Hour at 10.30 am on Saturday, the BJD members trooped into the well and raised slogans demanding a clarification from Majhi.
The House could function for only three minutes during the Question Hour, after which Padhy adjourned it as the agitating BJD members refused to stop sloganeering.
When the House reassembled at 11.30 am, opposition chief whip Pramila Mallik of the BJD slammed Majhi’s statement and said the remarks were unbecoming of a chief minister.
She urged the Speaker to expunge the CM’s statement from the assembly records.
Mallik said Majhi’s statement was an insult to the meritorious students who have been newly recruited.
“The CM’s statement will also de-motivate aspiring candidates preparing for different government jobs. Therefore, it should be deleted from the assembly records,” she said.
BJP member Santosh Khatua also alleged that there have been irregularities in the requirements during the previous government.
“The new law is therefore now passed in order to end the legacy of corruption in the recruitment process. There is no point in disrupting the valuable time of the assembly,” Khatua said.
The BJD members again created a ruckus, demanding a ruling from the Speaker. Amid the din, Padhy again adjourned the proceedings till 4 pm.
When the House reassembled at 4 PM, though BJD members remained silent, the Congress MLAs were on their feet and shouted slogans demanding action against the Odisha government officials who allegedly received bribes from the Adani Group in a reported deal for purchase of green energy.
The slogan-shouting Congress members exhibited placards in the House and demanded a judicial probe into the matter.
“We demand a judicial probe into the matter and arrest of government officials who allegedly received bribes from the Adani Group. Above all, the people of the state have been cheated as there was a secret deal between the company and some government officials,” Congress Legislature Party leader Rama Chandra Kadam said.
Unable to run the House due to the din by the Congress MLAs, Speaker Padhy adjourned the proceeding till 10.30 am on Monday after allowing presentation of the CAG report.
Leader of the Opposition in the assembly, Naveen Patnaik, was present in the House when his party members trooped into the well in the pre-lunch session while CM Majhi was not present as he attended a programme of President Droupadi Murmu in Mayurbhanj district.
Outside the assembly, BJD member Goutam Buddha Das asked the chief minister to prove the charges made by him or tender an apology in the House for making an “irresponsible” statement.
Dismissing Majhi’s allegation, BJD member Ganeswar Behera said, “Let the CM book the people who were involved in the alleged irregularities. Bring all of them before the camera.”
PTI
