Odisha Assembly Speaker rejects Congress’s no-confidence notice against BJP govt

Bhubaneswar, Sep 22 (PTI) Odisha Assembly Speaker Surama Padhy on Monday rejected the opposition Congress’s notice seeking to move a ‘no-confidence motion’ against the 15-month-old BJP government in the state.

While rejecting the notice, Padhy said it could not be moved in the House due to continuous disruption of the proceedings for three previous days.

The Congress claimed that the notice was rejected without any valid reason and started a dharna on the Assembly premises.

The Speaker said that the Congress had submitted the notice to the Assembly secretary on September 18 and she had asked the authorities to bring it for discussion the next day. However, the notice could not be taken up due to continuous ruckus in the House.

The Congress Legislature Party which has 14 members had submitted the no-confidence notice with signatures of 15 MLAs including one from the CPI (M).

The Congress had also requested BJD to support the no-confidence notice against the BJP government for its alleged all out failure in various sectors including collapse of law and order, rise in crime against women, farmers' problems, unemployment and others.

The grand old party had also issued a whip to its MLAs to remain present in the House as the Speaker may accept the notice.

Opposing the Speaker’s decision during the day, Congress MLAs trooped into well of the House and shouted anti-BJD and anti-BJP slogans before staging a walkout.

Later, the agitating members sat on a protest dharna near the Mahatma Gandhi statue on the Assembly premises.

Government Chief Whip Saroj Pradhan came to the dharna site and urged them to return to the House and participate in the proceedings. However, they remain seated near the Gandhi statue despite rain.

“There is no democracy here. The Speaker has rejected our notice to move a no-confidence motion against the BJP government without any valid reason. The ground on which the Speaker rejected the notice is not justified,” CLP leader Rama Chandra Kadam told reporters, and alleged that it was a well-hatched conspiracy by the BJP and BJD.

Party MLA Sofia Firdous said, “We had submitted the notice according the provisions of the Assembly Rules and Procedure. There was no justified reason to reject it. Now after rejection of our notice, the BJD members were participating in the proceedings which proved that there was a nexus between BJD and the BJP.” The 147-member Odisha Assembly comprises 78 members of the BJP, 50 BJD, 14 Congress, three Independents and one of CPIM). One seat remained vacant following demise of BJD’s sitting MLA Rajendra Dholakia from Nuapada.

While the first day of the monsoon session of Assembly on Thursday was adjourned after obituary references to Rajendra Dholakia, and six other former members, pandemonium prevailed on the following two days as the BJD continued its protest over the fertiliser crisis in the state.

On Monday, the proceedings remained adjourned till 4 PM due to ruckus by the BJD demanding roll back of the government decision to curtail panchayat functionaries' power by the state government. PTI AAM NN