Bhubaneswar, March 26 Odisha Assembly Speaker, Surama Padhy, on Wednesday, condemned the unruly behaviour by the opposition parties in the Assembly, emphasising the need to maintain the order and decorum in the House.
While briefing on the unprecedented chaos that unfolded both inside and outside the Assembly following the suspension of 12 Congress legislators on Tuesday, Speaker Padhy said that since opposition members resorted to various forms of protests, including displaying placards, posters, and banners during the second phase of the Assembly session since March 7.
From March 20, the Opposition MLAs intensified their protests by wearing black badges and attire, blowing whistles, and creating disturbances with horns and flutes, thereby disrupting the functioning of the House.
Out of 12 scheduled working days, Question Hour was conducted on only two days.
As of March 25, the House could operate for only 39 hours and 2 minutes instead of the scheduled time.
She said that all-party meetings were convened on March 10, 13, 24, and 25 to resolve the deadlock.
However, despite these efforts, unruly behaviour by Opposition members persisted.
On March 21, the Deputy Speaker Bhabani Shankar Bhoi issued the ruling directing members to refrain from disruptive conduct.
Yet, the disturbances in the Assembly continued, prompting the suspension of 12 Congress MLAs on Tuesday.
Speaker Padhy also added that even after their suspension, the suspended MLAs refused to leave the House and declared that they would hold a sit-in protest throughout Wednesday night.
Following this, the Assembly Secretariat was instructed to ensure proper security and make necessary arrangements.
Speaker Padhy claimed that at around 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Congress MLAs, accompanied by some political workers, attacked Marshals and security personnel in the Assembly's corridor, injuring several staff members who are currently undergoing treatment.
Later, at around 2 a.m. on Tuesday, some Congress MLAs were escorted out of the Assembly through the Marshal Gate, while others left respectfully.
On the other hand, the main Opposition Biju Janata Dal on Wednesday termed the Speaker's statement as incomplete and partisan.
"We have demanded the Speaker to make a statement on the unfortunate incident that has taken place in the House since yesterday. The Speaker today made a statement in the House on the issue. However, we feel the statement mentions half-truths only. It was incomplete and partisan. The statement didn't contain all the details regarding the whole incident. We also brought it to the notice of the Speaker," said senior BJD leader Prasanna Acharya.
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