Odisha Assembly Adjourned During Zero Hour As Congress Leader Stages Dharna; Know Why

Bhubaneswar: Proceedings in the Odisha Assembly were disrupted for over an hour on Tuesday amid adjournments after Congress staged a protest over land allotted to Vedanta group.

While business continued smoothly during the question hour on the second day of the budget session, trouble erupted as soon as zero hour began with Congress raising the issue relating to land allotted to Vedanta.

Raising the issue, Congress Legislature Party Leader (CLP) leader Narasingha Mishra rushed to the well of the House demanding immediate steps to take back the land allotted to Vedanta in view of the verdict of the Supreme Court in this regard.

The Congress leader sought to know as to why the state government is yet to implement the order of the apex court. Mishra demanded that Speaker Pramila Mallik give a ruling on the matter and direct the government to take action as per the Supreme Court order.

The Speaker told Mishra that she would examine the plea and inform the House. While the Speaker urged him to return to his seat and ensure normal business in the House, the Congress lawmaker was in no mood to relent. He staged a dharna in the well seeking ruling by the Speaker immediately.

As repeated requests from the Chair and some BJD members failed to convince Mishra, the Speaker adjourned the House for 30 minutes.

When the House reassembled, noisy scenes were witnessed and the proceedings were adjourned for another 30 minutes.