The Congress stalled the Odisha assembly for the second consecutive day on Thursday demanding discussion on “framing” of former Odisha DGP and now CRPF DG Prakash Mishra in a false corruption case by the state vigilance.
As soon as the house convened at 10.30 am, the Congress members jumped into the well of the house raising anti-government slogans. The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) members tried to confront them, forcing speaker Niranjan Pujari to adjourn the house till 3 pm. It was the third day of monsoon of the assembly.
The BJP was conspicuous for not taking part in the anti-government sloganeering in the house, apparently not to be seen siding with Congress whom it blamed for complete washout of the monsoon session of Parliament.
Speaking to reporters outside the assembly, Congress whip Taraprasad Bahinipati said it is the duty of the state government to run the house. “However, they are reluctant to allow discussion on topics of public importance. We wanted an adjournment motion on how the state government was snubbed by the Orissa High Court and the Supreme Court for registering a false vigilance against the senior IPS officer. But the government bulldozed us,” he said.
On August 17, the Supreme Court rejected the state government’s appeal against a June 19 Orissa High Court verdict quashing a vigilance case against the top cop. The opposition Congress and the BJP have questioned “legitimacy” of the Naveen government after that.
On August 13, the state government had filed a special leave petition in the SC challenging the HC order quashing an FIR of graft charges against Mishra. In its FIR, the Odisha vigilance had alleged that during his tenure as chairman-cum managing director of Odisha Police Housing and Welfare Corporation between 2006 and 2009, Mishra showed undue benefits to material suppliers causing Rs 7.27 crore loss to the state exchequer.
BJD spokesperson Sameer Dash said the opposition demand for a discussion on Prakash Mishra case is against legislative norms. “There can’t be discussion on a person who is not a member of the house,” he said reminding the opposition that precisely for the same reason Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan did not allow discussion on Rajasthan chief minister Basundhara Raje in the LS.
Leader of opposition Narasingha Mishra said the BJD logic is unfounded as the Congress wanted a discussion on the courts’ snub to the state government in a vigilance case and not about the cop. Congress has 16 members in the 147-member state assembly.
Prasanta Patnaik 
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