Congress, BJP rush to Raj Bhavan as deadlock continues in Assembly

Bhubaneswar: Angry over Speaker's refusal to allow discussion in Odisha Assembly on chitfund scam issue that paralysed the House for eight days, opposition Congress and BJP on Saturday sought intervention of Governor SC Jamir to uphold the constitutional spirit.

Law-makers of both the parties separately marched to Raj Bhavan after the House was adjourned in the pre-lunch session due to pandemonium. The House witnessed uproar with ruling BJD, opposition Congress and BJP members shouting in the well leading to adjournment till afternoon.

When the House re-assembled at 3 pm, similar agitation was repeated in the well forcing Speaker Niranjan Pujari to adjourn the house twice and convened an all party meeting to resolve the crisis.

Rejecting opposition demand for a discussion on chitfund scam, Pujari on Friday had said "there will be no discussion on the chitfund issue as per the advice of the Advocate General. I also feel AG's advice was justified."

Opposition members alleged that there was a conspiracy to throttle their voice in the name of AG's advice. "The AG, it seems, is .. to curtail the right of the members in placing their views on different subjects on the floor of the House," the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) members said in a memorandum to the Governor.

"There has been a constitutional deadlock and at this stage we appeal to your Excellency to immediately intervene in the matter and take appropriate action to uphold the constitutional law as the head of the state," the CLP memorandum said.

Terming the development in Odisha Assembly as "murder of democracy," BJP legislators in their petition to the Governor said "can the AG being a lawyer for the state government be allowed to decide what is to be discussed on the floor of the House especially when there is clear conflict of interest in this case."

Outside the Assembly, Leader of Opposition and Congress stalwart Narasingha Mishra claimed, "the incumbent AG was earlier an advocate of a chitfund company. On moral grounds, he should have opted not to give any comments on chit fund related issues. We demand he should resign immediately."

Further, Mishra claimed, the AG had violated the Bar Council's code of conduct by giving comments to Speaker on chit fund issue.