Bhubaneswar: The Opposition BJD and Congress MLAs continued to disrupt the Odisha legislative Assembly proceedings for another day of the ongoing Budget Session over the same demands.
Though the Speaker Surama Padhy requested them to raise their concern by participating in the proceedings, they did pay any heed to her plea.
The Speaker has convened an all party meeting but it failed to convince the Congress MLAs. Due to protests by the Opposition members, the first half session of the House completely washed away.
Odisha Legislative Assembly witnessed uproarious scenes, leading to multiple adjournments until 4 PM.
The trouble began soon after the House assembled for Question Hour. Carrying placards in support of their demands, the BJD MLAs stormed into the well of the House, raised slogans, and disrupted proceedings.
They demanded proportionate reservations for SC, ST, and OBC candidates in engineering and medical education, along with 27 percent reservation for OBCs in both jobs and education.
The Congress members continue beating gongs, reiterating their demand for a House Committee to probe the rising crimes against women in the State.
Speaker Shrimati Padhy urged the Opposition to return to their seats and cooperate with the proceedings, but they remained adamant and continued their protest near the podium.
Unable to restore order, the Speaker adjourned the House until 11:30 PM. As soon as the House was adjourned, Congress and BJD Members marched around the Assembly premises, carrying placards, and staged a dharna near the Mahatma Gandhi statue.
Finding no other option, the Speaker convened an all-party meeting in her chamber to resolve the deadlock and adjourned the House several times. After the meeting, the BJD stopped their protest, however, the Congress MLAs continued to create ruckus in the House to press for their demand. In such a situation, the proceedings were adjourned till 4 PM.
As a result, all scheduled business of the House, including the Question Hour, Zero Hour, and adjournment motions, was completely disrupted due to the Opposition’s protest
“The state has been spending crores of rupees for the Assembly to function, but the opposition stalls it on some plea or other,” said Treasury Bench Member Babu Singh
For the past 11 days, the State Assembly has witnessed repeated disruptions by Opposition Congress and BJD members, forcing the Chair to adjourn the pre-lunch session without transacting any business.