Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Assembly was adjourned multiple times Thursday due to a din created by the opposition BJD over the controversial Polavaram Dam project in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.
Congress MLAs boycotted the proceedings of the House for the second consecutive day, demanding withdrawal of the suspension order on senior member Taraprasad Bahinipati.
An all-party meeting convened by Speaker Surama Padhy to end the Congress boycott also failed to yield any result. Bahinipati was suspended Tuesday for seven days for “misconduct and unruly behaviour”.
As soon as the House assembled for Question Hour, the BJD members rushed to the well and staged a protest after their notice for a discussion on the Polavaram issue was rejected by the Speaker.
They shouted anti-BJP slogans and accused the saffron party of sacrificing the interest of Odisha for the sake of NDA government’s political gains in Andhra Pradesh.
Keeping in view the noisy scene in the House, the Speaker first adjourned the proceeding for about an hour till 11.30 am and later four times till 4PM.
When his party members were shouting in the Well of the House, BJD’s deputy leader Prasanna Acharya claimed that Odisha would be severely affected after completion of the Polavaram project.
“The Andhra Pradesh government’s unilateral and forceful construction of Polavaram project has become intolerable for Odisha. We demand a discussion on the matter,” Acharya said.
The BJD’s notice for a discussion on the project was rejected on the ground that the House cannot debate on a matter which is sub-judice.
Senior BJD MLA Arun Kumar Sahoo said that the Polavarm project’s design was changed during the NDA government, though it was sanctioned during the UPA regime.
“If the matter is sub-judice, how did the BJP-led central government sanction Rs 16,000 crore to Polavaram project in two phases? If the matter is sub-judice, how did the AP government undertake its construction?… Should we wait silently till the dam project inundates Odisha’s villages because the matter is sub-judice?” Sahoo said.
BJP member Irasish Acharya justified the Assembly rejecting the notice.
“The Rules of the Business of Odisha Legislative Assembly clearly say that the matter under sub-judice cannot be discussed in the House,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Speaker during the day held an all-party meeting after Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Rama Chandra Kadam requested her to revoke the suspension order on Bahinipati.
“The all-party meeting failed to yield any result as the Speaker has put a condition that Bahinipati will have to tender an apology for his behaviour. We have rejected it and argued that he has not misbehaved to the Chair. Rather, Bahinipati was heckled, manhandled and verbally abused by BJP MLAs including the Parliamentary Affairs Minister. Where is justice? Our MLA was humiliated and he will say sorry?” Kadam told reporters.
Kadam claimed that the Congress MLA was made a victim for raising the issue of rising crimes against women in the Assembly.
“We demand formation of a House Committee to inquiry into the 54 gang rape cases during the 8 months of BJP rule and a Bill for the protection and safety of women and girls in Odisha,” he said.
The Congress members wearing black badges as a mark of protest sat on a dharna on the assembly premises.
However, the post-lunch session was held smoothly with the participation of BJD members.
PTI
