All options to restore order in House were exhausted: Speaker | Bhubaneswar News
Bhubaneswar: Speaker Surama Padhy on Wednesday justified the suspension of Congress MLAs to restore discipline and dignity of the assembly after all options were exhausted to bring order. While the speaker suspended 12 of 14 Congress MLAs on Tuesday, she took similar action against the remaining two legislators — Tara Prasad Bahinipati and Ramesh Jena — on Wednesday as chaos continued in the House.
Making a statement during the post-lunch session, after frequent adjournments until 4 pm, the speaker pointed out that Congress members resorted to unacceptable ways of protest, lowering the dignity of the House, and were determined to stall proceedings, especially since March 20 when they wore black attire and played musical instruments. “I called all-party meetings four times and tried to resolve the impasse. The Congress members continued their protest, beating musical instruments. They didn’t heed rulings against the same,” she said.
She said that in the second phase of the budget session since March 7, question hour ran smoothly on 2 of the 12 working days. “The House lost 39 hours and two minutes to disruptions, which is disappointing,” she said. “This House belongs to all of us. It is our duty to maintain the dignity of the House. Therefore, we all need to have a sense of responsibility,” she added.
Congress legislature party leader Rama Chandra Kadam described the speaker’s action as undemocratic, while deputy leader of opposition and BJD MLA Prasanna Acharya termed it a biased move, which could have been averted. Amid demands from BJD members on the alleged mistreatment of Congress MLAs after they were suspended and allegations they were attacked, Padhy said that since the legislators chose to stay back in the House at night after suspension, the assembly secretariat took all steps for their safety and security. However, some political workers who accompanied the Congress MLAs attacked the security staff late in the night, following which the members were politely sent out of the Assembly premises.
Earlier, moments after the House reconvened, BJD members staged a walkout after pressing for a statement from the speaker on the alleged assault on suspended Congress MLAs. The House functioned without opposition for some time until Congress members Bahinipati and Jena, who were yet to be suspended, entered the House. The two resorted to beating cymbals and staged a protest, inviting a stern warning from the speaker, followed by a motion for their suspension for seven working days later in the zero hour.
BJD members took out a rally outside the assembly and returned to the house during zero hour. Raising the issue of suspension of Congress MLAs, BJD’s Acharya raised concerns over the unprecedented situation. He advised the govt to take all members along and make efforts to run the House smoothly. BJD member Pramila Padhy questioned police “high-handedness”, while her party colleagues Ranendra Pratap Swain and Arun Sahoo questioned the speaker’s decision.
BJP MLA Sanatan Bijuli and Tankadhar Tripathy, among others, justified the suspension, saying the Congress members left the speaker with no other option.
Making a statement during the post-lunch session, after frequent adjournments until 4 pm, the speaker pointed out that Congress members resorted to unacceptable ways of protest, lowering the dignity of the House, and were determined to stall proceedings, especially since March 20 when they wore black attire and played musical instruments. “I called all-party meetings four times and tried to resolve the impasse. The Congress members continued their protest, beating musical instruments. They didn’t heed rulings against the same,” she said.
She said that in the second phase of the budget session since March 7, question hour ran smoothly on 2 of the 12 working days. “The House lost 39 hours and two minutes to disruptions, which is disappointing,” she said. “This House belongs to all of us. It is our duty to maintain the dignity of the House. Therefore, we all need to have a sense of responsibility,” she added.
Congress legislature party leader Rama Chandra Kadam described the speaker’s action as undemocratic, while deputy leader of opposition and BJD MLA Prasanna Acharya termed it a biased move, which could have been averted. Amid demands from BJD members on the alleged mistreatment of Congress MLAs after they were suspended and allegations they were attacked, Padhy said that since the legislators chose to stay back in the House at night after suspension, the assembly secretariat took all steps for their safety and security. However, some political workers who accompanied the Congress MLAs attacked the security staff late in the night, following which the members were politely sent out of the Assembly premises.
Earlier, moments after the House reconvened, BJD members staged a walkout after pressing for a statement from the speaker on the alleged assault on suspended Congress MLAs. The House functioned without opposition for some time until Congress members Bahinipati and Jena, who were yet to be suspended, entered the House. The two resorted to beating cymbals and staged a protest, inviting a stern warning from the speaker, followed by a motion for their suspension for seven working days later in the zero hour.
BJD members took out a rally outside the assembly and returned to the house during zero hour. Raising the issue of suspension of Congress MLAs, BJD’s Acharya raised concerns over the unprecedented situation. He advised the govt to take all members along and make efforts to run the House smoothly. BJD member Pramila Padhy questioned police “high-handedness”, while her party colleagues Ranendra Pratap Swain and Arun Sahoo questioned the speaker’s decision.
BJP MLA Sanatan Bijuli and Tankadhar Tripathy, among others, justified the suspension, saying the Congress members left the speaker with no other option.
