Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Assembly on Friday was adjourned till 3 pm following the uproar by the Treasury Bench and the Opposition Congress members.
As soon as the session began at 10.30 am, the Congress members urged the Speaker Pradip Kumar Amat to initiate a discussion on the issue of the striking teachers. But the Speaker rejected their demand and directed for the commencement of the Question Hour session. At this, the irate Congress members, led by the Opposition chief whip Tara Prasad Bahinipati, rushed to the well of the House and started shouting slogans against the state government for its gross apathy towards the teachers.
On the other hand, the ruling BJD members stood up and protested the BJP government at the Centre for the steep hike in the prices of petrol and diesel.
Unable to conduct the proceedings, the Speaker adjourned the House till 3 pm.
Soon after the adjournment of the House, the BJD members proceeded to a filling station near Ram Mandir Square and staged a demonstration.
“The BJP government at the Centre, which had promised ‘achhe din’, has betrayed people by effecting a steep hike in the prices of petrol and diesel and ruining their economic backbone. As a mark of protest, the BJD has decided to take up the issue to the grassroots level throughout the state and continue the protest till the Centre takes a decision to revise the fuel price,” BJD leader Sanjay Dasburma told the media.
Taking a jibe at the Centre, former minister Arun Sahu said when the fuel price in the international market was Rs 135 per barrel, the fuel price in India was Rs 54 per litre. “How come that the price of the fuel has now gone up to over Rs 80 per litre in the country when its price has come down to Rs 78 in the international market?” he questioned.
Replying to a question on whether the state government will bring down the VAT on the fuel, Sahu said as compared to other states, the VAT rate in Odisha is the lowest. “It is the responsibility of the BJP government at the Centre to revise the GST as it is the only way to bring down the fuel price,” he maintained.
