Ruckus in Odisha Assembly over fertiliser crisis, House adjourned till 4 pm

Bhubaneswar, Sep 19 (PTI) The Odisha Assembly on Friday witnessed noisy scenes as MLAs of the Opposition BJD demanded a detailed discussion on fertiliser crisis during the ongoing kharif season that has prompted farmers to hit the streets.

Even before the House assembled at 10.30 am for Question Hour, the BJD MLAs were present in the well holding placards and raising slogans against the BJP government, accusing it of being "anti-farmer".

The House could function for only four minutes, with Speaker Surama Padhy adjourning the proceedings till 4 pm as her repeated requests to the agitating members to return to their seats fell on deaf ears.

Though she allowed School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond to reply to a question of BJP member Tankadhar Tripathy, nothing could be heard amid the din.

The BJD agitation in the assembly came a day after Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister K C Patra admitted that there had been black marketing of fertiliser across the state.

Outside the House, Opposition chief whip Pramila Mallik said that they were forced to stage the agitation in the well of the House because the government has "ignored the plight of farmers" who have been protesting on roads.

"This government has failed to meet the farmers' demand and there has been rampant black marketing of fertiliser across the state," she alleged.

Justifying the BJD's agitation despite the Speaker accepting a notice for a debate on the fertiliser crisis, Mallik said, "We have been demanding a full-fledged discussion in the House after suspending all the business. When more than 60 per cent of the state's population is farmers, a discussion for 15-20 minutes will not be justified." However, BJP MLA Agasti Behera alleged that the Opposition BJD disrupted the proceedings to "defame the government".

"When the Speaker accepted the Congress' notice for a discussion on the issue after Question Hour, there was no point in creating a ruckus. Such things are done only to get publicity," the legislator alleged.

Congress member Ashok Das expressed surprise over the BJD's action and said that they could have discuss the matter through an adjournment motion.

"Instead of joining the debate, the BJD ensured that the House was adjourned. We suspect that the BJD did this to protect the BJP government," Das alleged. PTI AAM AAM ACD