The war of attrition over the proposed Odisha Vidhan Parishad (legislative Council) intensified on Monday with the ruling BJD refusing to accept the Opposition parties’ demand for an immediate all-party meeting on the issue. BJD spokesperson Pratap Jena said, “The decision to form a committee (for the purpose) is a correct decision. There is always a scope to discuss this matter at an all-party meeting after the committee visits some States (where legislative Councils exist) and submits its report.”
However, senior BJP leader Biswa Bhusan Harichandan said, “If an all-party meeting can’t be convened before taking such an important decision, we would have to understand that this Government doesn’t believe in democracy. They should have consulted with all parties before going ahead. It is pointless to call an all-party meeting after moving ahead with a committee’s visit and presenting a fait accompli to us.”
Former PCC president Niranjan Patnaik said, “It was important for the Government to have consulted leaders across all political parties before taking the decision on the committee. But then the aim of the Government was never betterment of people. All they are now trying to do is to use their brute majority in the State Assembly to rehabilitate some of their members.”
Notably, on January 7, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Bikram Keshari Arukh had announced suo motu that a five-member committee would be sent to Karnataka and Maharashtra to study the functioning of the legislative Councils there and submit a report to the Government by the end of this month. BJP legislature Party leader Basant Panda had said, “We would have accepted the move, had it been done by the Speaker. Also, our party should nominate the member of the committee, not the Government.” The Congress had accused the BJD of trying to rehabilitate its members.