BHUBANESWAR: Senior BJP leader and Sambalpur MLA Jayanarayan Mishra on Saturday alleged that the BJD members were disrupting the proceedings of the Assembly under instructions of VK Pandian, the former close aide of Naveen Patnaik who had quit politics immediately after the 2024 poll debacle.
Raising the issue through a point of order during the zero hour, Mishra said the BJD legislators were openly discussing in the Assembly lobby that the instruction to not allow smooth functioning of the budget session had come from Pandian.
Talking to reporters outside the Assembly, Mishra said when he spoke to some BJD MLAs on the reason for their non-cooperation even after Speaker Surama Padhy allowed their adjournment notice for discussion on farmers’ problems, they also confirmed that it was as per the diktat of Pandian.
“How can a person who is not a member of the House or even the party give such instruction to legislators without any authority. This is unconstitutional and objectionable,” Mishra said.
Opposition chief whip Pramila Mallik raised an objection and urged the Speaker to expunge the unfounded allegations against someone who is not even a member of the Assembly. Mallik said, “Naveen Patnaik is the only leader of the BJD whose writ runs large on party affairs. There is no second power centre as claimed by the BJP member.”
The BJD legislators went to Raj Bhavan to submit a memorandum to Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati on the plight of farmers. “We apprised the Governor that the ruling BJP is not interested for a discussion on farmers’ issues even after our chief whip moved a motion,” MLA Pratap Keshari Deb said.