The Odisha Assembly today witnessed heated scenes during Zero Hour over the recent attack on the Shergad Block Chairman, with opposition members demanding strict action and a ruling from Speaker Surama Padhy on law and order in the state.
Opposition leaders alleged that elected representatives are increasingly unsafe, citing the Shergad incident, where around 20 ruling party supporters allegedly stormed the chairman’s office and assaulted him. They claimed such attacks reflect a growing atmosphere of fear and “gundaraj” in the state.
Congress members joined the protest, condemning the incident and pressing for immediate intervention. BJP legislators countered, arguing that BJD and Congress have no moral authority to speak on law and order, pointing to past incidents under previous governments.
The uproar forced the Speaker to adjourn the House for ten minutes. Later, BJD’s chief whip Pramila Mallik reiterated that assaults on public representatives are rising and demanded accountability. Several members, including Sarada Jena and Tara Prasad Bahinipati, called for strong punitive measures against those involved.
Ruling party members, however, accused the opposition of shedding “crocodile tears,” recalling past cases of violence during BJD and Congress regimes. They insisted that under the current government, criminals are not shielded and justice is being delivered.
