Congress, BJD demand withdrawal of Bahinipati's suspension from Odisha Assembly

Bhubaneswar: Opposition Congress and BJD on Wednesday demanded the immediate withdrawal of the suspension of senior member Taraprasad Bahinipati from the Odisha Assembly.

Bahinipati, a senior Congress legislator, was on Tuesday suspended from the assembly for seven days for "misconduct and unruly behaviour" following a scuffle between members of the ruling BJP and opposition MLAs in the House.

As soon as the Question Hour started at 10:30 am on Wednesday, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Rama Chandra Kadam sought to speak on the issue through a point of order.

However, Speaker Surama Padhy did not allow him to speak during Question Hour, after which the Congress MLAs staged a walkout from the House and sat on a dharna near the Mahatma Gandhi statue on the assembly premises.

Later, the Speaker asked government chief whip Saroj Pradhan to meet the demonstrating Congress members and request them to return to the House.

Earlier in the day, a delegation of opposition BJD led by its deputy leader in the assembly, Prasanna Acharya, met Padhy at her chamber and requested her to withdraw the suspension of Bahinipati.

"We met the Speaker and discussed Tuesday's unfortunate incident in the House. We requested the Speaker to reconsider her decision as it appears to have been taken in a hurry. The House is not only for the ruling party or the opposition. It is for all. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure the smooth functioning of the assembly," Acharya later told reporters.

The BJD members also actively participated in the Question Hour even though the press gallery was vacant due to journalists' boycott of proceedings over not being allowed to carry mobile phones inside the House, while Congress members continued their sit-in demanding the withdrawal of suspension of Bahinipati.