Bhubaneswar: Commotion prevailed for a while in the State Assembly Friday over growing atrocities against women in the state, before the House was adjourned till Monday morning in view of the Hockey World Premier League hosted by the state government at Kalinga Stadium here.
The Question Hour, however, ran smoothly. As soon as the House assembled for the day and the initial Question Hour began, members cutting across party lines raised several issues such as frequent power cuts and creating more scope for expansion of various manufacturing and assembling units in the industrial and MSME sector.
While Energy Minister Prafulla Mallick said that maintenance work and shortage of coal are the main reasons for power outage, Industries Minister Niranjan Pujari said that he will convene a meeting with officials of all departments concerned to take necessary steps for growth of state’s industrial units.
As the Question Hour ended, at 11.30 am, Congress members raised the issue of increasing crime and violence against women in the state.
Pitching it up, Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra said that Orissa has earned a dubious distinction of being ranked third in the country for growing rape cases and wanted to know if Orissa is competing with states like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh which have been ranked first and second in this list.
Pointing to the alleged rape of a three-year-old girl child at Rajkanika in Kendrapara, Mishra accused the police of shielding the culprits as they are still at large. He questioned the efficiency of the police and alleged that the ruling party is using police stations in the state as its party offices.
The Opposition leader alleged that cops in the area are working at the behest of the ruling party (BJD) and when the police came to know that the mother of the girl child is a supporter of Congress, the police refused to register FIR.
Mishra sought a reply from Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who also holds the Home portfolio, on this issue and demanded a ruling from the chair in this regard.
Congress Chief Whip Tara Prasad Bahinipati seconded Mishra and demanded a ruling from the Speaker. As Speaker Pradip Kumar Amat asked the Opposition members to cooperate in taking up other business of the House, Congress members led by Bahinipati stormed into the well demanding a ruling from the chair. BJP members also seemed supporting the principal opposition.
Unable to run the House, the Speaker adjourned the house for 15 minutes.
When the House resumed at around 12 noon, Congress member Prafulla Majhi and BJD chief whip Amar Satpathy proposed adjourning of the House for the day so that the members of the House could attend the inaugural ceremony of Hockey World League 2017 hosted by the state government here.
Eventually, Speaker Amat considered the members’ demand and adjourned the House till Monday.
PNN