Bhubaneswar: Bedlam prevailed in the Odisha Assembly on Tuesday over non-procurement of paddy, forcing the Speaker to adjourn the House twice till 12.50 pm.
As soon as the House session began, Speaker Surjya Narayan Patro ordered the commencement of question-hour. However, the Opposition Congress and BJP members demanded a discussion on non-procurement of paddy in several mandis (procurement centres) in the state.
When the Speaker rejected their demand, irate Congress MLAs led by Tara Prasad Bahinipati and Santosh Singh Saluja rushed to the well of the House with placards and shouted slogans against the government. They alleged that farmers waiting in the mandis with hundreds of quintals of paddy were not able to sell their produce due to the bonhomie between the state government and millers.
Unable to conduct the business, the Speaker adjourned the House till 11.30 am. The House was adjourned again till 12.50 pm during the zero hour. The Speaker later called an all-party meeting to resolve the impasse.
Notably, the Assembly had witnessed as many as 16 adjournments yesterday due to the uproar by the BJP and Congress members over the inordinate delay in paddy procurement.
