Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Assembly on Tuesday witnessed uproar as MLAs of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and opposition Congress clashed inside the House. The clash between the two sides went out of control to such an extent that Speaker Surama Padhi had to adjourn the proceedings till noon. Tension escalated in the Assembly when senior BJP MLA Jai Narayan Mishra moved towards Congress MLA Taraprasad Bahinipati. Taraprasad was standing in front of Urban Development Minister KC Mohapatra while the minister was answering a question.
Congress MLA Bahinipati said outside the House, ‘Mishra grabbed the collar of my shirt and pushed me. I was requesting Minister Mahapatra with folded hands not to answer when there is no order in the House. But suddenly Mishra came and grabbed my collar.’ Later, pushing and shoving started between other members of the ruling party and Congress, after which Speaker Padhi adjourned the proceedings of the House. There was a lot of uproar in the House and BJP and Congress MLAs were seen pushing each other.
Biju Janata Dal members were also present at the same place but stayed away. Opposition BJD and Congress MLAs raised different issues. The BJD MLAs demanded a statement from Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Mishra’s remarks in which Mitra had described the merger of erstwhile Kosala with Odisha in 1936 as a ‘historic mistake’, while the Congress MLAs were protesting against the rising crimes against women in the state. This was the second consecutive day when uproar was witnessed in the Assembly.
Amid the opposition’s protest, Speaker Padhi allowed the Question Hour to continue for about 30 minutes. BJD MLAs registered symbolic protest by carrying lanterns in the assembly premises over the Chief Minister’s absence in the House for 2 consecutive days. Biju Janata Dal MLAs also staged a sit-in outside the Chief Minister’s chamber. Political pundits say that the deadlock between the ruling party and the opposition may increase further in the coming days.
