BHUBANESWAR: A day after the unprecedented ruckus, normalcy returned to the state Assembly and the question hour was conducted smoothly on Wednesday.
However, Congress members boycotted the House, demanding withdrawal of suspension of senior MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati whereas Opposition BJD members participated in the proceedings actively.
Bahinipati was suspended from the House for seven days by Speaker Surama Padhy on Tuesday for ‘misconduct and unruly behaviour’ after a scuffle between the BJP and Congress members in the House.
As soon as the question hour started at 10.30 am on Wednesday, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Ramachandra Kadam sought to raise the issue through a point of order. However, Speaker Surama Padhy did not allow him to speak. Soon, Congress members staged a walkout and sat on dharna near the Mahatma Gandhi statue on the Assembly premises.
The Speaker later asked government chief whip Saroj Pradhan to meet the Congress members and request them to return to the House. A group of ruling BJP members including minister of state for Higher Education Suryabanshi Suraj and chief whip Saroj Pradhan went to the dharna site and requested them to return to the House. However, the Congress members continued with the dharna.
Earlier in the day, a delegation of Opposition BJD led by its deputy leader in the Assembly, Prasanna Acharya, met Padhy at her chamber and requested her to withdraw the suspension of Bahinipati.
“We met the Speaker and discussed Tuesday’s unfortunate incident in the House. We requested the Speaker to reconsider her decision as it appears to have been taken in a hurry. The House is not only for the ruling party or the Opposition. It is for all. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure the smooth functioning of the Assembly,” Acharya later told reporters.