A day after causing embarrassment to the Government by accusing Assembly Speaker Niranjan Pujari of inability to exercise his Constitutional powers to restore order in the State Assembly, Excise and Cooperation Minister Damodar Rout on Tuesday sought to make amends claiming he had said nothing against the Speaker.
Dr Rout, who had the remarks against the Speaker on the TV cameras, understandably, chose to soften his views about the latter’s performance at the instance of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik since his statement ran contrary to the ruling BJD’s official stand on the Speaker.“The Speaker himself is a lawyer. All that I had said on Monday was that perhaps he is not using the enormous powers vested in him by the Constitution to restore normalcy in the Assembly. I have said nothing against the Speaker,” Rout said.
The Minister sought to clarify that his comments were in reference to the unruly behaviour of some MlAs who had climbed on to the Speaker’s podium from behind after having talks with him at his chamber. Rout accused leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra of trying to play politics on his comments. “He has nothing of his own,” he said.
Mishra admitted that the Opposition used Rout’s statement as a weapon. “Whatever Damababu said on Monday has been recorded by the media. We have used it as a weapon. Either you play the recordings before him or let himself listen to what he had said and then react,” said Mishra in his reactions to Rout’s present ‘clarifications’ and accusations against him.
BJP legislature Party leader Basant Panda said, “We do not know under what circumstances Damababu made the (present) statement. Is it not that whatever he had earlier said is the truthIJ”
BJD spokesperson Pratap Jena said there is no provision in the Assembly rules to challenge the Speaker’s ruling. “In any case, this is not the first time such a ruling has been given,” he said.