The State Assembly witnessed frequent adjournments and could not conduct normal businesses till afternoon on Tuesday as the Opposition members protested against two issues such as the gruesome murder in the Sambalpur Family Court and unsatisfactory reply from Panchayati Raj Minister Pradeep Maharathy on execution of the PESA Act.
During Question Hour discussion, Congress member Dr Prafulla Majhi wanted to know whether the Government would recognise Gram Sabhas in tribal villages in Sundargarh district as per the Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to scheduled areas) Act, 1996.
To this, the Minister said the Odisha Gram Panchayat Act, 1965, after being amended as per the Sections 40, 243 of the Constitution and the provisions of the PESA Act, are now being implemented in all the tribal areas in the State.
Dissatisfied over this, the Congress and BJP members rushed into the Well of the House and started slogans against the Government. Despite Speaker Pradeep Kumar Amat’s repeated requests, they didn’t move back to their seats.
Unable to run the proceedings, the Speaker adjourned the House at 10.55 am till 12 noon. When the House reassembled, leader of Opposition Narsingha Mishra expressed deep concern over the incident of a youth killing his wife and injuring two others in a family court at Sambalpur on Monday. “There is no rule of law anywhere in the State. While security arrangements need to be provided in court premises, the Government has failed to do so. The incident occurred in the Sambalpur Family Court is a serious matter.
The Chief Minister or the Government must make a statement informing the House about the incident and steps to be taken to provide security to litigants and judicial officers,” demanded Mishra. As the Speaker didn’t respond, the Opposition members rushed into the Well and shouted slogans against the
Amat adjourned the House at 12.05 am till 3 pm.
However, normalcy returned in the House during afternoon hours as Parliamentary Affairs Minister Bikram Keshari Arukh made a statement on the issue.
“Sanjita Choudhury of Sindurapanka in Sambalpur district had married Ramesh Kumbhar. After a dispute, Sanjita married another man and hence, Ramesh had come to the family court for conciliation. But he attacked Sanjita, her mother and another girl with a sword in the court premises. Sanjita died while undergoing treatment at the VIMSAR, Burla. The Sambalpur Town police have arrested Ramesh. Police have been directed to provide adequate security arrangements in the court premises,” said Arukh.