Bhubaneswar: Protests over the objectionable remark made against Mahatma Gandhi in Odisha Assembly spilled onto the streets last evening, triggering a major political showdown.
While opposition BJD and Congress MLAs staged a “silent” protest inside the House, leaders of the BJD Youth and Students Wings held demonstrations outside the Assembly, vociferously condemning the remarks made by BJP MLA Santosh Khatua.
Khatua made the statement during discussion on supplementary budget of the Home and General Administration departments. Although Speaker Surama Padhi promptly directed that the remarks be expunged from the records and prohibited reporting of the same in the media, the incident still provoked strong protests from opposition MLAs. The Opposition attempted to disrupt the Assembly session by demanding an apology from Khatua, and later marched to Mahatma Gandhi’s statue within the Assembly complex to hold a protest.
