Bhubaneswar: Congress MP from Koraput Saptagiri Ulaka on Friday wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, seeking action against two senior police officers of Odisha for alleged breach of parliamentary privilege.
“Raised breach of Privilege Motion against DGP Odisha & DCP Bhubaneswar for heckling, manhandling, forcibly stopping & illegally detaining me at Reserve Office Bhubaneswar for more than 3 hours, preventing me to perform my Parliamentary duties,” he post on x along with the letter.
In his letter, the two-time MP alleged that DGP Y B Khurania and Bhubaneswar DCP Jagmohan Meena committed a serious breach of privilege by illegally detaining him while he was entering the Odisha Legislative Assembly in the state capital at around 10.30 am on March 26.
Ulaka added that he could not attend Parliament due to his detention.
“Despite clearly identifying myself as an MP and asserting my democratic and constitutional right to access the Assembly premises, I was heckled, manhandled, forcibly stopped and illegally detained at Reserve Office Bhubaneswar for more that three hours, resulting in my inability to attend Parliament on March 26,” he wrote.
The Koraput MP said that this conduct constitutes grave breach of parliamentary privilege under Article 105 of the Constitution and Rule 222 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha. “Such actions obstruct the functioning of an elected representative and challenge the dignity of the House itself,” he said, while urging the Lok Sabha Speaker to refer the issue to the Committee of Privileges for immediate and appropriate action against the officers concerned.
On March 26, Ulaka tried to enter the Odisha Assembly during a Congress protest against the suspension of party MLAs, leading to a 45-minute confrontation with law enforcement. The Congress workers had managed to reach Gate No. 3 of the assembly in violation of prohibitory orders in force from the Mahatma Gandhi Marg.
The Koraput MP also met Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, in Delhi and informed him about the ‘police excesses’ against the agitating Congress workers on the following day (March 27) during the Vidha Sabha gherao programme.
Also Read: Assailed By BJP Over Clashes, Odisha Congress Blames Police, ‘Outsiders’ For Violence