Bhubaneswar, Mar 7 (UNI) The Odisha Assembly on Friday witnessed a ruckus as Opposition parties, the BJD and Congress, vehemently protested against the state government’s decision to change the date of Panchayati Raj Diwas, which they claimed disrespected Biju Babu.
The uproar led to the adjournment of the House until 12 pm by Speaker Surama Padhy.
Before the Assembly convened at 10:30 AM for the second phase of the budget session after an 18-day break, agitated BJD and Congress members, carrying placards, occupied the well of the House.
They raised vociferous slogans against the government for delinking Panchayati Raj Diwas from March 5, which had been observed on the birth anniversary of the legendary leader, Biju Patnaik for the last three decades.
The Opposition intensified their protests and rushed to the podium as Speaker Surama Padhy entered the House to commence the Question Hour.
When the Speaker asked School and Mass Education Minister Nityanand Gond to respond to a question raised by BJP’s Babu Singh, the agitated Opposition members attempted to disrupt the proceedings.
BJD MLA Adhiraj Panigrahi and Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati attempted to climb onto the Speaker’s podium and tried to snatch the microphone. However, Assembly security personnel intervened and removed the microphone from the podium.
The protesting BJD and Congress members declared that they would no longer tolerate the "disrespect" shown to Biju Babu by discontinuing the tradition of observing Panchayati Raj Diwas on his birthday, a practice that had continued in the state for the past three decades.
Undeterred by the Opposition's protest, Minister Nityanand Gond continued his response to BJP MLA Babu Singh’s question, though his remarks were barely audible due to the commotion.
The Speaker urged the agitating BJD and Congress members to return to their seats and allow the House to function, emphasizing that important discussions were scheduled.
However, the Opposition ignored the Speaker’s appeal and intensified their sloganeering inside the well, further disrupting the House proceedings.
Unable to maintain order, the Speaker adjourned the Assembly at 10:35 AM until 12 PM.
Following the adjournment, BJD legislators carrying placards marched in a procession from the well of the House to the Mahatma Gandhi statue inside the Assembly complex, where they staged a dharna.
They demanded that the government revoke its decision to discontinue the observance of March 5 as Panchayati Raj Diwas.
On March 4, the BJP-led Odisha government decided to observe Panchayati Raj Diwas on April 24, aligning it with the national-level observance, and canceled the March 5 public holiday in the state.
A release from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) stated that Public Service Day would also be celebrated on April 24, as approved by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi.
The statement further clarified that while March 5, the birth anniversary of Odisha’s great leader Biju Patnaik, would be celebrated in a grand manner, it would no longer be observed as a government holiday.
This had caused a lot of resentment in the BJD and the party had organized a mass protest across the state on March 6 against the decision of the government describing the action of the government as an insult to Biju Babu.
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