Bhubaneswar: The opening day of the second phase budget session of the Odisha Assembly began on a stormy note following uproar by the ruling BJD members over the Mahanadi issue forcing the Speaker to adjourn the House till 3 pm.
As soon as the Question hour session began, the BJD members stood on their bench and shouted slogans against the gross apathy of the Centre and the Chhattisgarh government towards Mahanadi issue. The ruling members came down heavily on the Centre for its inordinate delay in the announcement of the terms of reference of the newly-constituted Mahanadi Tribunal. Besides, they also expressed grave concern over the callous attitude of the Chhattisgarh government as it had blocked the Mahanadi water by closing all gates of the Kalma barrage.
Despite repeated request by the Speaker Pradip Amat to the BJD members to restore normalcy in the House, the latter did not relent. Unable to run the business, he adjourned the House till 3 pm.
Soon after the adjournment of the House, the BJD members staged a dharna under the Mahatma Gandhi statue on the Assembly premises.
Talking to mediapersons, BJD member Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak said the Centre had formed the Mahanadi Tribunal as per the directive of the Supreme Court to resolve the ongoing dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh over the sharing of Mahanadi river waters.
“However, instead of announcing the terms of reference of the Tribunal, it has called Mahanadi river basin states Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Bihar, including Odisha, to Kolkata on April 16 to discuss outstanding water resources issues. The Mahanadi river water dispute will also come up for discussion at the conference of Eastern states. From this, it is clearly evident that the Centre does not want to expedite the matter in favour of Odisha as it has a soft corner towards Chhattisgarh government,” Nayak explained.
Taking a jibe at the ruling members for disrupting House proceedings, Leader of the Opposition Narasingh Mishra said to whom the Opposition would redress its grievances if the savior becomes the predator. “It is the responsibility of the government and its machinery to run the State Assembly. But going by the attitude of the ruling party in the House, it seems it is making efforts to take the seat of the Opposition in the forthcoming elections,” he added.
Launching a broadside against the BJD, BJP member Pradip Purohit said the Mahanadi issue raised by the treasury bench is nothing but a eyewash. “The ruckus created by them in the House was an attempt to cover up the failure of the state government in the Mahanadi issue. This is the attempt of the ruling party to cover up its 18-year misrule,” he maintained.
