BHUBANESWAR: Protest Deputy Speaker Rajani Kanta Singh’s request to the Opposition chief whip Mohan Charan Majhi to shorten his speech, BJP members on Saturday did not participate in the discussion on the admissibility of an adjournment motion on KALIA scheme.
The BJP members were agitated when the Deputy Speaker asked Majhi to stop when the latter had spoken for already 20 minutes. Singh reminded him that a member should make a short statement while speaking in any adjournment motion.
After this Majhi stopped his statement midway and did not speak despite requests by the Deputy Speaker. No other BJP member participated in the discussion in protest.
Taking up the issue, deputy leader of the BJP Legislature Party Bisnu Charan Sethi criticised the Deputy Speaker for stopping Majhi from making his statement. Referring to the general practice in the Assembly, Sethi said other members take more than an hour speaking in any discussion adjournment motion.
He asked why Majhi was stopped midway through his speech even though he had initiated the discussion. Only two Congress members, Narasingh Mishra and Suresh Kumar Routray participated in the discussion on such an importance issue.
Later the BJP members walked out from the House in protest expressing their displeasure over the reply given by Agriculture Minister.
Majhi also criticised the Deputy Speaker outside the House for trying to suppress the Opposition voice. However, leader of Congress Legislature Party (CLP) Narasingh Mishra told media persons that in the early 1990s’ two adjournment motions were discussed in the House.
It is in the rules of procedure that a member should make a short statement while seeking reply in an adjournment motion. He said adjournment motions are different from discussion on any department budget or bill.