Odisha Assembly Adjourned Twice Over Law And Order

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Assembly on Monday was adjourned twice following uproar by the Opposition Congress members over deteriorating law and order situation in the state.

As soon as the House session began with Question Hour, leader of the Opposition Narasingh Mishra, while expressing grave concern over the deteriorating law and order, urged the Speaker Pradip Amat to cancel the question hour session and initiate discussion on rape on minor girls in Soro and Nilagiri in Balasore district.

He said since the chief minister is in charge of the Home portfolio, let him give a clarification to this effect in the House.

But as the Speaker refused to initiate the discussion, the irate Congress members rushed to the well of the House shouting slogans against the state government while some of them tried to snatch the microphone from the Speaker’s table.

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

The situation continued during zero hour as the Congress members reiterated their demands for a discussion on the rape of two minor girls and urged the Speaker to direct the chief minister to furnish a reply in the House. As the Congress members did not relent, the Speaker adjourned the House till 3 pm announcing that he will give a ruling on this matter in the evening.

Briefing media persons after the adjournment of the House, Mishra said that the crimes like brutal rape and murder of minor girls in Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir has spread to Odisha like an epidemic. “Though such sensitive incidents have taken place in Soro and Nilagiri in Balasore district, the chief minister and the state government are yet to take any action,” he pointed out.

Meanwhile, in a statement to the media on Monday, Nilagiri BJD MLA Sukant Nayak said he came to know about the incident from TV and social media.

He said the police is investigating into the incident and whoever found guilty would be punished.

To a question on whether there is any pressure on the police to hush up the case, Nayak said “I don’t know who is talking about political pressure and why. All the people of Nilagiri are my supporters. Besides, the complainant and the convict also belong to Nilagiri. But I have no relationship with the person against whom a rape complaint has been lodged,” he claimed.