Bhubaneswar: The first session of the newly constituted 17th Odisha Legislative Assembly began this morning with a stormy note as Opposition BJD and Congress walked out as soon as Governor Raghubar Das’s address to the House was started.
Both the Opposition parties boycotted the Governor’s address over the alleged assault of an ASO of Raj Bhavan by the Governor’s son in Puri on July 7 night. The opposition leaders are not happy with the BJP government for remaining silent in this case.
Speaking to media persons, Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik said, “My party and I were disappointed and surprised to find that the present government has taken no action on the Governor’s son, who had uttered violence to a government officer. We were deeply shocked by this.”
Stating that the law and order seems to have broken down in the State, the former chief minister said, “When I was in government, ministers, MLAs, MPs, and senior government servants, if they had broken the law, immediate action would have been taken.”
The State government must act according to the law, he demanded.
Similarly, senior Congress MLA Taraprasad Bahinipati said Odia ‘asmita’ (pride) was hurt as the official, who is an Odia, was allegedly assaulted by the governor’s son, who is a non-Odia.
“The Governor’s son, who is a non-Odia, has assaulted an official, who is an Odia. The Governor was yet to take action in this regard even though he was immediately informed. Shri Das had promised to take action against the culprit within seven days. But, no action has been taken so far,” he said.
Where is BJP’s Odia ‘asmita’ when the governor is reading out his speech in Hindi?, asked the Congress leader.
Shri Bahinipati also rushed to the well of the House demanding the arrest of the accused in the alleged assault case.
After Governor’s address, the House paid tributes to Murlidhar Chandrakant Bhandare, Ex-Governor of Odisha, Surendra Nath Naik, Ex-Deputy Speaker and Ex-Minister, Damodar Rout, Dambarudhara Ulaka, Kamala Das, V. Sugnana Kumari Deo, Aditya Madhi and Kamala Pujari.
Enhanced security measures have been implemented around the state assembly for the duration of the session, which will continue until September 13. The annual budget for the year 2024-25 will be presented on July 25.
In the 147-member assembly, the BJP has 78 members, the BJD 51, the Congress 14, and the CPI (M) one, while there are also three Independent MLAs.