Bhubaneswar: The state assembly was thrown into chaos on Monday following controversy over the Chief Minister’s announcement of reservation for Agniveers outside the assembly while the session was in progress.
Opposition parties, including the BJD and Congress, strongly criticized this move, accusing the Chief Minister of breaching parliamentary privilege. The Congress party has issued a breach of privilege notice against the Chief Minister. Meanwhile, BJP MLA Irashish Acharya raised concerns about how the media learned of the Congress’s intention to bring a breach of privilege notice without the Speaker’s knowledge.
On Monday, the assembly’s question session proceeded normally until chaos erupted during zero hour. The commotion began when Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mukesh Mahaling read the Chief Minister’s announcement regarding the Agniveer reservation and a five-year age relaxation. Both the BJD and Congress caused a disturbance in the house, questioning why the Chief Minister chose to make the announcement outside of the house.
During zero hour, Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati accused the Chief Minister of not trusting the House, stating that he first announced the reservation outside the assembly. As the leader of the House, he allegedly violated its norms. The Congress issued a breach of privilege notice against him, urging the Speaker to refer it to the Privileges Committee and demanding the Chief Minister’s resignation. Congress MLA leader Ramchandra Kadam also expressed criticism of the Chief Minister on this issue.
Opposition chief whip Pramila Mallik argued that government announcements should be made during house proceedings. She suggested that the Chief Minister’s announcement indicated a lack of trust in the house and questioned the propriety of introducing a reservation while disregarding the High Court’s decision. She stated that it is expected for a new government to make mistakes and called for the Chief Minister to apologize before the House. Similarly, BJD MLA Ganeswar Behera referenced parliamentary rules and past incidents as examples.
Meanwhile, BJP MLA Irashish Acharya has issued a breach of privilege notice against Tara. Questions have arisen regarding how the news of Congress’s breach of privilege notice reached the media without the Speaker’s consent. Due to this, Congress MLAs gathered at the centre of the House, chanting slogans against the Chief Minister. Speaker Surama Padhy urged the opposition to return to their seats, but they remained agitated. Consequently, the Speaker suspended the session for 20 minutes. Upon resumption, the disruption persisted, leading to another adjournment until 4 PM.
Notably, during the session on the 26th, the Chief Minister declared a 10% job reservation and 5-year age relaxation for Agniveers outside the House. Legislative and parliamentary norms dictate that policy decisions must be announced within the House during a session. The Congress has accused the Chief Minister of violating this protocol.
