BHUBANESWAR: The tug of war over the proposed legislative council in the State intensified with the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) defending the Government’s decision to constitute a five-member committee without taking the Opposition political parties into confidence.
“The decision to form the committee is correct. There is always a scope to discuss this matter in an all-party meeting after the committee visits a few States and submits its report,” former minister and BJD spokesman Pratap Jena said.
Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Narsingh Mishra, however, criticised the move of the State Government as undemocratic. The manner in which the BJD spokesman defended the Government’s decision not to consult the Opposition political parties is autocratic, Mishra said.
In a democracy, the voice of the Opposition, which is always in a minority, should never be ignored, he said.
Senior Congress leader Niranjan Patnaik also criticised the Government’s move to go ahead with the decision to form the legislative council without consulting the Opposition. The BJD is now trying to rehabilitate some of the defeated ruling party leaders by establishing the legislative council, he said.
The BJP also strongly criticised the Government for taking the Opposition political parties for granted. “We will not accept the decision without a discussion on the issue in the all-party meeting,” leader of the BJP Legislature Party Basant Panda said.
The State Government should have convened an all-party meeting before constituting the five-member committee, he said and added that it is pointless to consult the Opposition after submission of the report.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Bikram Keshari Arukh on January 7 had announced that a five-member committee will visit Maharashtra and Karnataka to study the functioning of the legislative council in those States and submit a report by the end of this month.