BHUBANESWAR: Alleging that ‘the sacred temple of democracy’ had been desecrated as police entered the well of the House to evict Congress members on Tuesday night, members of the Opposition BJD on Thursday sprinkled ‘Ganga Jal’ in the Assembly before participating in the proceedings.
Led by Opposition chief whip Pramila Mallik, the BJD members sprinkled ‘Ganga Jal’ from earthen pots with mango leaves in every nook and corner of the House. “We sprinkled Ganga Jal to purify the Assembly. It has been polluted as the Speaker allowed the police to enter the well of the House,” she said.
This occurred during the question hour when the BJD members entered the Assembly with kalash containing Ganga Jal and started sprinkling the holy water both inside and outside the House. The Speaker, however, disapproved such act of the BJD members and requested them to take the pots outside the House.
Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari, who was then replying to a question, said there is no need to resort to such an act as the House is always sacred and pure.
To this, BJD member Arun Sahoo said engaging police to evict the Congress MLAs was an unprecedented act. “The police also used force against the BJD members when they wanted to go out to garland the statue of BR Ambedkar at AG square. This incident has brought a shame to Odisha,” he added.
In a similar protest in December 2021, the then Opposition BJP and Congress had sprinkled Ganga Jal and cow dung in the House to purify it, as a mark of protest against the murder of a woman teacher in Kalahandi district.