Din in Odisha Assembly over Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification, Congress MLAs observe ‘black day’

The House had on March 24 witnessed several adjournments as Congress legislators protested against Rahul's disqualification from the Lok Sabha

The Odisha Assembly was on Monday adjourned till 4 pm as Congress MLAs observed ‘black day’ to protest against the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from Lok Sabha, and created a ruckus in the House.

Donning black clothes, Congress members trooped into the well of the House during the Question Hour and raised slogans against the BJP and the Centre, terming the saffron party as a “killer of democracy”.

Congress legislators also made an attempt to climb the Speaker’s podium.

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Unable to run the House due to the ruckus, Speaker B K Arukha adjourned the proceedings till 4 pm.

The House had on March 24 witnessed several adjournments as Congress legislators protested against Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha.

Before the commencement of the Assembly proceedings on Monday, members of the Congress held a meeting at the chamber of CLP leader Narasingha Mishra.

Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Sarat Pattnayak was also present at the meeting.

Pattnayak said, “We have been observing 'black day' and will meet the Odisha governor. I have come to the Assembly to invite our MLAs to join the protest near Raj Bhavan”.

Asked over the "silence" of BJD president and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification issue, Pattnayak said, "The CM is afraid of the BJP as his party leaders were involved in chit fund and mining scams. They fear the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate."

Speaking to reporters outside the House, senior Congress leader and MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati alleged that “democracy has been murdered” under the BJP's rule at the Centre.

“We are observing 'black day'. Party MLAs have worn black clothes and caps to register their protest against the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from Lok Sabha,” he said.

Leader of Opposition and BJP legislator Jayanarayan Mishra said the "action against Rahul Gandhi has been taken in accordance with the law". “How can they term the action as the murder of democracy,” he asked.

Gandhi, representing Wayanad parliamentary constituency in Kerala, was on March 24 disqualified from the Lok Sabha, a day after his conviction in a defamation case by a court in Surat in Gujarat.