Bhubaneswar: In a very rare and unfortunate incident, Opposition Congress and Governing BJP Members engaged in a scuffle in the floor of the Odisha Legislative Assembly on 11 March here.
Usually the Opposition and Treasury Bench Members engage in verbal duels in the House. However, today, perhaps for the first time in history, the Opposition and Treasury Bench Members engaged in almost physical attacks like face-off in the Assembly.
Both the BJD and Congress MLAs have created ruckus in the well of the Assembly during the entire day. The Congress members staged the protest over rising crime against women while the BJD members protested senior BJP MLA Jayanarayan Mishra’s remarks, which they alleged were aimed at dividing the state.
The Congress party has been raising the issue for the past three business days while the BJD has been raising Shri Mishra’s remark for two days. The House witnessed several adjournments during the entire day.
Before the House began at 10.30 am, the BJD and Congress Members, holding posters and placards, stormed into the well of the House, raised slogans, and attempted to climb the podium to snatch away the Speaker’s microphone. Some Opposition Members even stood on the Reporters’ table and removed their headphones.
The Assembly plunged into complete chaos during the question hour when Opposition Members rushed toward Urban Development Minister Krushna Chandra Mohapatra to obstruct him from replying to a question.
This prompted Treasury Bench members to rush to the Minister’s defense, preventing Opposition Members from disrupting proceedings.
A scuffle ensued inside the well, with BJP Members forcibly snatching away and tearing the Opposition’s posters and placards.
BJP’s Jayanarayan Mishra and Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati were seen confronting each other, while BJP’s Ashok Mohanty had a scuffle with Congress Member Rajan Ekka.
Treasury Bench Members tried to push Opposition Members back to their seats, leading to further unruly scenes and a complete breakdown of order.
BJD Members have been demanding a statement from the Chief Minister regarding Shri Mishra’s remarks, along with a public apology from Sambalpur Lawmaker for his alleged divisive statements.
Meanwhile, several BJP Members including Irasish Acharya, Ashok Mohanty, Upasana Mohapatra, Sanatan Bijuli and Pratap Chandra Nayak condemned the unruly behavior of the Opposition and demanded strict action against them for insulting the Speaker by throwing posters and placards at her and disrupting Minister’s reply.
The BJP convened a meeting of party legislators in Room No. 54 of the Assembly to discuss the behavior of the Opposition BJD and Congress members.
Treasury Bench members strongly criticized the Opposition for what they described as undemocratic and disruptive behavior inside the House, demanding action against those attempting to stall legislative proceedings.
The BJP demanded a public apology from the BJD and Congress for their unruly behavior inside the well of the house.
The Congress MLAs also staged a sit-in near the Mahatma Gandhi statue on the Assembly premises.
With the CM not coming to the House for the last two days, the BJD members, wearing black badges, launched a symbolic “search” for him on the Assembly premises with a lantern. They also staged a sit-in in front of the CM’s chamber.
“For the first time, women Members were panicked by the situation in the Assembly today. The Speaker should not have allowed the proceedings when the House was in turmoil. Our senior leader was heckled by the BJP members,” Congress MLA Sofia Firdous alleged.
BJD Lawmaker Arun Kumar Sahoo said, “We had never seen Members of Opposition and Treasury Benches clashing in the well of the House. This had never happened in the history of Odisha Legislative Assembly.”
Governing BJP MLA Tankadhar Tripathy said that the behaviour of the Opposition Members in the Assembly was unacceptable.
“Opposition is part of a democracy. Limits should be drawn in the House. While the Urban Development Minister was replying to a question in the House, the BJD and the Congress MLAs tried to break the mic and took away the files from his table. This is not acceptable in a democracy,” Shri Tripathy said.
The BJP MLA also alleged that the Opposition Members threw posters at the Speaker. They should apologize for their behaviour, he pointed out.