In a strange development, the ruling BJD on Wednesday noisily disrupted the State Assembly proceedings from the very beginning of the Monsoon Session of the House and its members headed for the Raj Bhavan to submit a memorandum to the Governor on the Mahanadi and Polavaram issues.
This was despite the fact that the Opposition pleaded with the Speaker for debates over the two issues with leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra moving a motion to this effect.
The Assembly witnessed an unprecedented adjournment and ran for only two minutes since BJD members continued shouting slogans against the Union Government over construction of barrages upstream the Mahanadi in Chhattisgarh and the Polavarm project in Andhra Pradesh from the time the House met at 11 am.
Ruling members stood up at their chairs and shouted slogans soon after Speaker Niranjan Pujari took his seat even as the national song was to be sung first.
They were heard shouting ‘Mahanadi barrages, Polavaram project band kar’ (stop Mahanadi barrages and Polavaram project) and Kendriya Abichaar Chaliba Nahin (injustice meted out to Odisha by Centre).
They remained silent for a minute only as the national song was sung. Again they started shouting the same slogans.
Though leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra was trying to speak something, the Speaker didn’t allow him to do so and wanted to go ahead with the Question Hour session. But as BJD members continued shouting slogans, Pujari adjourned the House at 11.01 am till 3 pm.
According to information, the Opposition Congress had given a notice to the Speaker seeking suspension of the Question Hour and holding discussion on the Mahanadi issue on a priority basis.
“The BJD has disrespected the National Song. It is disappointing. The Speaker too didn’t give any instruction to the ruling party. The House was adjourned in a pre-planned way at the instance of the Chief Minister and the Speaker,” alleged Mishra outside the House.
Similarly, the opposition BJP alleged that the State Government doesn’t want discussion on Mahanadi and Polavaram issue. “We were ready to participate if a discussion on Mahanadi issue would have been held in the House,” said BJP MlA Pradeep Purohit.
After the House was adjourned till afternoon, all BJD MlAs went to the Raj Bhawan to submit a memorandum to Governor Dr SC Jamir demanding his intervention into the Mahanadi and Polavaram issue.
The ruling members went the same way when the House met at 3 pm. This time too, the leader of Opposition stood at his seat seeking to speak something. But amidst sloganeering by Treasury bench members, Speaker adjourned the house till Wednesday morning.
later, BJD spokesperson Samir Ranjan Das said, “Our party members became sentimental as Odisha’s interest is being affected due to Mahanadi and Polavaram projects. We are sorry for that.”