BHUBANESWAR: Proceedings in the Assembly was disrupted and no business could be transacted in the pre lunch session on Friday with the Congress and BJP members creating a ruckus demanding a discussion on Government’s alleged lack of interest in implementing the Orissa Official Language Act, 1954. The issue was raised by the Congress members as soon as the question hour started. Congress members rushed to the well protesting Speaker Niranjan Pujari’s decision not to allow discussion on an adjournment motion notice given by them. While the C o n g r e s s m e m b e r s shouted slogans in the well and tried to climb onto the Speaker’s podium, the BJP members supported the demand for a discussion on the issue from their seats. The Speaker had to adjourn the House till 3 pm when the noisy scenes continued.
Congress members criticised the Government for its lack of interest to use Odia in all official communication. “We wanted the Government to declare that Odia would be used for all official communication on the occasion of birth anniversary of Utkal Gourav Madhusudan Das on Friday,” Congress MLA Naba Kishore Das said outside the House. Das said activities report of different departments are not presented in Odia in the Assembly though other States use their official languages in this regard. BJD member Dibya Shanakar Mishra, however, said Congress is directionless and their main problemis that they do not know what to present. “They are unnecessarily creating a ruckus over the issue as the Government has already initiated steps for implementation of Orissa Official Language Act, 1954,” Mishra said.