Amid Opposition Uproar In Odisha Assembly Over Caste Census, Speaker Convenes All-Party Meet

Bhubaneswar: With opposition BJD and Congress creating ruckus and disrupting proceedings in Odisha Assembly over reservation and caste-based census on Tuesday, Speaker Surama Padhy convened an all-party meeting in a effort to ensure smooth functioning of the House.

Shortly after the House assembled for the day, members of BJD and Congress raised the issue and demanded steps to provide reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs in the field of education.

During the question hour, BJD, Congress, and CPI(M) legislators stormed the well of the House demanding reservation for the ST, SC and OBC communities.

The proceedings were disrupted in the House amid slogan-shouting by the opposition members in support of a caste-based census.

Amid pandemonium, the House was adjourned several times during the question and zero hours. In a bid to restore normalcy in the House, the Speaker convened an all-party meeting and the situation improved thereafter. The opposition participated in the proceedings, while Congress sought a statement from the Chief Minister regarding the reservation issue.

Earlier during the question hour, opposition BJD and Congress MLAs created pandemonium in the House demanding a caste census. Members of both parties trooped into the well and created noisy scenes, prompting the Speaker to adjourn the House till 11.30 am.

Uproarious scenes were witnessed as Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati and BJD’s Adhiraj Panigarahi attempted to climb the Speaker’s podium, while BJD member Romanch Ranjan Biswal was seen shouting slogans atop the reporter’s table. Unable to conduct business, the Speaker adjourned the House till 12:30 pm and scheduled an all-party meeting to restore normalcy.