Bhubaneswar: Odisha Assembly Speaker Surama Padhy has taken a strong stance against indiscipline in the House, suspending 12 Congress MLAs for seven working days.
The action comes after the legislators staged a protest in the well of the House, disrupting proceedings and showing disrespect to the Chair.
The suspension is a culmination of heated protests by Congress members that have led to repeated disruptions in the Assembly.
Speaker Padhy emphasized that the decision was necessary to maintain order and uphold parliamentary decorum. As a result, the suspended MLAs will not be allowed to participate in House proceedings for the next seven days.
This isn’t the first time Speaker Padhy has taken action against misconduct in the Assembly. Earlier, Congress MLA Taraprasad Bahinipati was suspended for seven days over alleged misconduct during Question Hour.
The suspended MLAs are Congress Legislature Party chief Rama Chandra Kadam, C S Rajan Ekka, Sofia Firdous, Ashok Das, Mangu Khila, Dasarathi Gamango, Satyajit Gamango, Nilamadhab Hikaka, Sagar Das and Prafulla Pradhan.
No action has been taken two MLAs of Congress- Tara Prasad Bahinipati and Ramesh Jena
Government Chief Whip Saroj Kumar Pradhan moved a motion seeking suspension of the MLAs creating rucks repeatedly in the House.
The suspended MLAs were seen creating a ruckus in the well when the House was adjourned for 10 minutes. Later, the House was reassembled, and the Speaker directed the suspended MLAs to vacate the place as soon as possible.
Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati said, “We are not afraid of suspension. Rather, the government is afraid of the Congress party, which has called for a massive protest on March 27. We will continue to fight for the cause of the state.”
BJD MLA Arun Sahoo described the government as inefficient, unable to run the House. “The government is a failure. We, as the principal opposition, are not allowed to speak in the House. The Congress party has been demanding a House committee for women’s atrocities. What is the problem with forming such a committee?” Sahoo asked.
The fact is that the government has suspended several MLAs in Karnataka. The BJP government has applied the same formula in Odisha, the BJD legislator added.
Reacting to the action, Minister Krushna Chandra Mohapatra said that the Speaker has her own prerogative to suspend any member from the House for indiscipline. She has done it for the smooth functioning of the Assembly.
