As pandemonium prevailed in the Odisha Assembly during morning hours on Thursday, hundreds of school teachers staged protests outside the houses of many legislators demanding regularisaion of their service and implementation of the grant-in-aid system of salary payment.
Little business could be transacted in the Assembly as the proceedings were adjourned from the beginning till 3 p.m. after legislators belonging to both the Opposition and the ruling legislators rushed to the well of the House and disrupted the proceedings to raise their demands.
While the Opposition legislators continued to demand for a discussion about registration of the false case against former Director General of Police Prakash Mishra, ruling BJD legislators raised slogans against Centre’s apathy towards Odisha in an attempt to counter the Opposition attack. Congress legislators rushed to the well of the House after Speaker Niranjan Pujari refused to allow a discussion on the case against Prakash Mishra which had since been quashed by the Orissa High Court.
The Speaker adjourned the proceedings till 3 p.m. when both ruling and opposition legislators stalled the proceedings.
Demand rejected
Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra again took up the Prakash Mishra issue when the House reassembled in the afternoon and demanded that the issue be discussed as an adjournment motion. The Speaker, however, rejected the demand.
The issue of the teachers’ agitation was, however, not discussed in the House during the day, and the teachers continued with their dharna on the Mahatma Gandhi Marg.
Prasanta Patnaik