Bhubaneswar: Odisha Assembly Speaker Surama Padhy Wednesday suspended two more Congress MLAs for seven days over “indiscipline” in the House.
With this, all 14 Congress MLAs have now been suspended.
The state Assembly witnessed ruckus and was adjourned four times.
As soon as the House assembled for Question Hour at 10.30 am, Opposition BJD members raised the issue of reservation for the ST, SC and OBCs in education and jobs and walked out of the House.
The two Congress MLAs – Taraprasad Bahinipati and Ramesh Jena – who escaped suspension Tuesday, entered the House Wednesday and started beating gongs to protest the suspension of 12 of their members Tuesday and demanded formation of a House Committee to inquire into the rise in crime against women across the state.
Irked over the disturbance created by the two Congress members, government Chief Whip Saroj Kumar Pradhan moved a motion seeking their suspension and the House adopted it through voice vote. With this, all the 14 Congress MLAs were suspended for seven working days.
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However, BJD members joined the House after paying tribute to B R Ambedkar’s statue and demanded a statement from the Speaker on the alleged ill-treatment of Congress members who were staging an overnight dharna in the well of the House protesting their suspension.
Unable to run the House, Speaker Padhy adjourned the House for 30 minutes and convened an all-party meeting to resolve the impasse in the Assembly for seven days.
Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, BJD deputy leader in the Assembly Prasanna Acharya demanded a statement from the Speaker on the alleged assault on suspended Congress MLAs by the security staff on Tuesday night.
He said the Congress MLAs have alleged that they were beaten up while being forcibly evicted from the Assembly premises around 2 am. They had then spent the night on the street near the party’s office.
Stating that the opposition has the right to put forth their views and statements in the House, Acharya alleged that the ruling party became hyperactive.
“Some Opposition MLAs were forcefully evicted from the House. It happened for the first time in the history of the Odisha Assembly. The Opposition MLAs were evicted by police. Police had never entered the Well of the House in the past. Therefore, we demand a statement from the Speaker on the matter,” Acharya said.
Opposition Chief Whip and senior BJD leader Pramila Mallik alleged the Congress MLAs were beaten up and some members injured as per media reports. “You (Speaker) are not saying anything on this matter. You are not also making any statement on our demand for reservation of seats for OBC,” she said.
Mallik also drew the attention of the Speaker saying that BJD MLAs were not allowed to go outside the House when they went to BR Ambedkar’s statue. “The police also assaulted the BJD members. Give a proper statement whether you have given any instruction to the police,” Mallik told the Speaker.
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BJD’s eight-time MLA, RP Swain said: “We have given notice four times in the past three days for discussion on reservation for SC ST and OBC. What is your agenda? When the scuffle took place in the House on March 11, you have given one-sided direction. We heard that someone has snatched the chain of Bahinipati. Who will give clarification on this matter,” Swain said.
BJD member Arun Kumar Sahoo said when the Congress MLAs demanded a statement from the chief minister on the crime against women issue, it was rejected. In the three all-party meetings, the Congress members demanded House Committee but it was also rejected, he said.
Treasury bench members Tankadhar Tripathy, Om Prakash Mishra and others defended the government and the Speaker’s action.
The BJD MLAs for the second time in the pre-lunch session staged a walkout demanding a statement from the Speaker.
BJP MLA Padma Lochan Panda expressed “displeasure” over the Speaker’s decision to suspend two more Congress MLAs. “You have suspended two MLAs for beating gongs. It is not right. Please convene an all-party meeting and ensure smooth functioning of the House till the end,” he said.
PTI
