Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Assembly plunged into turmoil amid chaotic scenes on Tuesday as opposition MLAs played gongs and raised slogans while protesting over various issues.
As uproarious scenes erupted shortly after the House assembled, Speaker Surama Padhy initially adjourned the proceedings twice till 12.01 pm. The House witnessed multiple adjournments subsequently as noisy scenes persisted despite repeated appeals from the chair to maintain peace.
With proceedings of the Assembly frequently hit by the ruckus, Deputy Speaker Bhabani Shankar Bhoi convened an all-party meeting to resolve the matter.
As soon as the House assembled for the day, BJD and Congress members trooped into the well with placards, played musical instruments, raised slogans, alleging that the BJP government has failed to ensure safety of women and justice to the ST, SC and OBC people.
While the BJD members raised slogans demanding proportionate reservation for ST, SC and OBC students in educational institutions and jobs, Congress MLAs demanded the formation of a House Committee to inquire into the incidents of violence against women that took place during the last nine months after the BJP came to power.
The Congress members beat gongs and cymbals, while playing flutes causing a huge noise in the House. They had done the same earlier also.
The House was adjourned for the second time till 12.31 pm. As similar noisy scenes prevailed when the House reassembled, the proceedings were adjourned till 4 pm.
As the proceedings remained paralysed, the opposition BJD and Congress legislators staged separate protests with placards outside the House on the Assembly premises.
