BJD members once again stalled the State Assembly on Friday over the Polavaram issue and later submitted a memorandum addressed to President Pranab Mukherjee to Governor SC Jamir.
As soon as the House assembled for the day’s proceedings, BJD MlAs marched into the well of the Assembly and shouted slogans against the Centre while standing beside the podium of the Speaker. Unable to run the House, the Speaker adjourned the Assembly till 3 pm.
The ruling party MlAs later marched towards the Raj Bhavan holding posters and submitted a memorandum to the Governor.
After meeting with the Governor, Minister Debi Prasad Mishra told mediapersons, “The Governor has assured us to look into the demands and recommend accordingly to the President. We demand that the Polavaram project should be put on hold as a national project. Tendering process for the project should be postponed. Besides, no Gram Sabhas were held in those areas despite being a scheduled area. We apprised about this to the Governor.”
Transport Minister Ramesh Majhi, who was part of the team that met the Governor, said, “The Centre has been helping Andhra Pradesh one-sided. The Odisha Chief Minister has been raising issues of the tribals before the Centre for long.”
Meanwhile, Opposition leader Narasingha Mishra said five Congress MlAs had resigned from the House Committee on the Polavaram issue. The Opposition MlAs such as Tara Prasad Bahinipati, Bhujbal Majhi, Kailash Chandra Kuleshika, Chandrasekhar Majhi and Krusnachandra Shagaria met the Speaker and submitted their resignations.
Speaking to mediapersons, Mishra said, “BJD is playing dirty politics on the Polavaram issue.”
Naba Das from Congress said the ruling party enacted a drama in the House to avoid a discussion on the farmer suicide issue. Two BJP MlAs decided to stay away from the meeting of the House Committee formed to discuss the Polavaram issue.
Opposition Congress served a privilege notice against Agriculture Minister Pradeep Maharathy alleging that he hid facts about the death of farmers in the House.
The House Committee of the State Assembly on Thursday had decided to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Polavaram issue. Briefing mediapersons after the meeting presided over by the Speaker, Committee member and BJD’s Sanjay Dasburma said the committee would write a letter to the Prime Minister within 2-4 days.
“The committee will meet the Prime Minister within two weeks and submit a memorandum,” he added.
The BJD MPs also raised the contentious issue in the lok Sabha on Friday. Raising the issue during Zero Hour, party leader Bhartruhari Mahtab said that large areas in tribal-dominated Malkangiri district would be inundated in the project.
He said when the work on the project started it was assured by the Government that not an inch of land in Odisha would be submerged.
Claiming that the views of Odisha were not considered by the Tribal Affairs Ministry before giving rehabilitation and resettlement clearance, Mahtab alleged that Chhattisgarh, which is also affected, was also not being consulted.
Accusing the Centre of becoming a party and not an arbitrator in the dispute over the project, he said that Odisha has now approached the Supreme Court in the matter.