Congress MLAs Boycott Odisha Assembly Protesting Tara Bahinipati’s Suspension, Get Support From BJD

Bhubaneswar: Congress members boycotted the Odisha Assembly on Wednesday protesting the suspension of party legislator Tara Prasad Bahinipati from the House for seven days over a scuffle with the ruling BJP members.

The Congress legislators decided to continue the boycott unless the suspension is lifted. They decided to stage a sit-in near the Mahatma Gandhi statue on the premises of the Assembly as a mark of protest.

In another significant development related to the issue, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) extended its support to the Congress on matter and sought immediate withdrawal of the suspension of Bahinipati from the assembly. Opposing the suspension, BJD MLAs met Speaker Surama Padhy and urged her to lift the suspension order.

“The Speaker should have examined the incident deeply before passing the suspension order. We requested the Speaker to reconsider the decision. We are awaiting the Speaker’s next move,” said BJD MLA Prasanna Acharya.

Notably, the Odisha Assembly on Tuesday witnessed unruly scenes as a scuffle ensued between the ruling and opposition members. During the Question Hour, BJD and Congress MLAs rushed to the well of the House and resorted to sloganeering, holding placards. The BJD and Congress members were staging protests against the controversial statement of BJP MLA Jayanarayan Mishra over Koshal’s merger with Odisha and rising crime against women in the state, respectively.

The chaos escalated when some of them tried to climb atop the podium of Speaker Surama Padhy. Furthermore, a scuffle broke out between the ruling and opposition members, during which a physical confrontation reportedly took place between Tara Prasad Bahinipati and Jayanarayan Mishra.

Subsequently, Bahinipati was suspended for alleged “misconduct and unruly behaviour” after a notice was moved by government chief whip Saroj Kumar Pradhan.

While both Congress and BJD opposed the suspension of the legislator terming it one-sided, Bahinipati sought to know the rules under which he was suspended.