Bhubaneswar, Mar 21 (UNI) The stalemate in the Odisha Assembly continued on Friday as the House was adjourned five times during the day and the efforts to resolve the impasse remained inconclusive.
Speaker Surama Padhy convened an all-party meeting in her chamber after the House was adjourned twice—first from 10:32 AM to 11:30 AM and then again at 11:31 AM until 12:00 PM—following protests by both Congress and BJD members inside the well of the House.
The House was subsequently adjourned three more times, from 12:01 PM until 4:00 PM, as the all-party meeting convened by the Speaker failed to yield a resolution. As a result, debates on Question Hour, Zero Hour, and the Adjournment Motion were completely disrupted.
The trouble began right from Question Hour when the House convened at 10:30 AM. Congress members, dressed in black attire and headbands, staged a novel protest inside the well of the Assembly, beating cymbals and playing trumpets. They reiterated their demand for a House committee to probe the rising crimes against women in the state.
The Opposition BJD also joined the protest, albeit for a different reason, accusing the government of not sharing videos of Opposition activities inside the House with the electronic media.
As the chaos escalated, Speaker Surama Padhy invited School and Mass Education Minister Niyananda Gond to respond to a question. However, his voice was drowned out by the uproar as Opposition members intensified their protests.
With the House descending into complete disorder, Speaker Padhy was forced to adjourn proceedings at 10:32 AM until 11:30 AM.
Following the adjournment, Congress members continued their protest outside, marching around the Assembly premises while beating cymbals and playing trumpets, demanding the formation of a House committee to investigate the rising atrocities against women in the state. They reiterated that their protests inside the House would persist until their demand was met.
When the House reconvened at 11:30 AM, the situation remained unchanged, forcing the Speaker to adjourn it again at 11:31 AM for another 30 minutes until 12:01 PM and to convene an all-party meeting in an attempt to resolve the deadlock.
Despite multiple adjournments, the Speaker’s all-party meeting failed to break the impasse, and the House was adjourned until 4:00 PM.
The second phase of the Odisha Assembly's Budget session, which commenced on March 7, has witnessed continuous disruptions for the past ten days, with both BJD and Congress members stalling proceedings over various issues, primarily during pre-lunch sessions.
UNI DP KK