Bhubaneswar: Odisha Assembly Speaker Surama Padhy Tuesday suspended senior Congress member Taraprasad Bahinipati for seven days, hours after a scuffle between members of the ruling BJP and opposition MLAs in the House.
Bahinipati has been suspended for “misconduct and unruly behaviour”.
A notice in this regard was moved by the government chief whip, which was accepted by the House.
The Speaker’s action came following repeated disruptions caused by the Congress MLA in the House. He had earlier in the day attempted to climb the Speaker’s podium, and allegedly rushed to the seat of Urban Development Minister K C Mohapatra, asking him to stop replying in the House.
Bahinipati had also reportedly broken the microphone on the Speaker’s podium Monday.
Following the announcement, the senior Congress legislator sat on a dharna in the well of the House, protesting the action.
“The Speaker has suspended me illegally. I was assaulted by BJP members, but she has not taken any action against them. The Speaker is acting in a partisan manner,” Bahinipati later told reporters.
Opposition Congress and the BJD have also condemned Bahinipati’s suspension.
