Oppn protests continue to disrupt House proceedings | Bhubaneswar News
Bhubaneswar: Opposition BJD and Congress continued to disrupt the assembly over separate issues on Friday forcing speaker Surama Padhy to adjourn proceedings multiple times. An all-party meeting to iron out the differences didn’t yield much result as the pandemonium continued after that as well.
Moments after the House reconvened, the Congress members, dressed in black, staged a dramatic protest first inside and then outside the assembly, beating a bell to draw attention to “increasing” crimes against women, an issue the party has been persistently raising since start of the second phase of the ongoing session on March 7.
BJD members protested against the alleged censorship of opposition members’ footage and the restrictions placed on media personnel, who were prevented from taking photos and videos during the question hour.
Congress legislature party leader Rama Chandra Kadam said they were forced to raise the issue because the govt has turned a deaf ear to their demand for a House committee on the issue even as the crimes against women are going up. BJP MLA Jayanarayan Mishra said the Congress has been staging protest as per the direction of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhakta Charan Das, who wants to get some traction after he took over recently. Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati denied the allegation.
BJD MLA Arun Kumar Sahoo said the opposition activities were being censored and media coverage of the proceedings were restricted. “If media coverage continues to be restricted, we will protest,” Sahoo warned. In response, BJP MLA Saroj Padhi criticised the BJD’s stance, reminding them that the party had previously blocked media access to the assembly, stating they had “no moral right” to advocate for press freedom.
Moments after the House reconvened, the Congress members, dressed in black, staged a dramatic protest first inside and then outside the assembly, beating a bell to draw attention to “increasing” crimes against women, an issue the party has been persistently raising since start of the second phase of the ongoing session on March 7.
BJD members protested against the alleged censorship of opposition members’ footage and the restrictions placed on media personnel, who were prevented from taking photos and videos during the question hour.
Congress legislature party leader Rama Chandra Kadam said they were forced to raise the issue because the govt has turned a deaf ear to their demand for a House committee on the issue even as the crimes against women are going up. BJP MLA Jayanarayan Mishra said the Congress has been staging protest as per the direction of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhakta Charan Das, who wants to get some traction after he took over recently. Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati denied the allegation.
BJD MLA Arun Kumar Sahoo said the opposition activities were being censored and media coverage of the proceedings were restricted. “If media coverage continues to be restricted, we will protest,” Sahoo warned. In response, BJP MLA Saroj Padhi criticised the BJD’s stance, reminding them that the party had previously blocked media access to the assembly, stating they had “no moral right” to advocate for press freedom.
