Odisha Assembly Adjourned Over BJP Member’s Statement On Muslim Women

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Assembly was adjourned till 11.30 am on Friday, following a ruckus by Congress members over the controversial statement of a BJP member on the plight of  divorced Muslim women.

As soon as the House assembled, Speaker Surya Narayan Patro ordered the resumption of the question hour. However, Congress members urged the Speaker to direct the BJP member and deputy leader of the Opposition, Bishnu Sethi to tender an unconditional apology over his controversial and derogatory statement on the plight of the abandoned Muslim women found in the red light areas of Mumbai and Kolkata. They also demanded that Sethi’s statement be expunged from the proceedings.

As the Speaker stuck to the question hour session, irate Congress members led by the party’s chief whip, Tara Prasad Bahinipati rushed to the well of the House and started shouted slogans.

Unable to run the proceedings, the Speaker adjourned the House till 11.30 am.

The issue had cropped up during zero hour on Thursday when Sethi said that passage of the Triple Talaq Bill in Rajya Sabha will bring relief to Muslim women. He said instant triple talaq was an archaic law and finds no mention in the Quran. The BJP MLA referred to Congress’ opposition to the Bill in Parliament and said that the Triple Talaq system should not be allowed to continue in India when it is banned in as many as 38 Muslim countries.

Following the ruckus, the Speaker adjourned the House till 3 pm.