BHUBANESWAR: On Wednesday, opposition legislators from the BJP and Congress raised a commotion in the Odisha Assembly objecting to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for reading a written statement in the House on Tuesday in response to a discussion about grant requests for the Home and General Administration Department.
"Ministers can read out budget documents, allude to books, newspapers, and documents during the speech, but not written speech," the members of the opposition claimed. Members of the opposition had left the room in protest of the situation.
Speaker Bikram Keshari Arukha received a privilege notice about it from Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Narasingha Mishra. He asked the Speaker to grant him permission to move the privilege notice against the Chief Minister for reading out a written statement during Zero Hour.
The Speaker, however, refused to let him relocate the notice because "it is still being examined." "I assume that since the Chief Minister was the target of the privilege notice, a different factor is at play. I was before frequently permitted to move such a notice, "said Mishra.
Jayanarayan Mishra, the leader of the opposition from the BJP, stood with him and pleaded with the Speaker to permit the Congressman to move the notice.
"No one is permitted to read a written statement under our system without the Speaker's prior consent. Why shouldn't the privilege notice be moved in the House by the leader of the CLP?" He inquired. The Speaker said he would consider the notice after due examination. Responding to it, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Niranjan Pujari backed the Chief Minister, saying "ministers can read out speech and other documents in the House".
"I am also in charge of the Finance Department. Is the budget speech in the House something I'm missing? This custom is practised in Lok Sabha and throughout the nation "Pujari said.
Narasingha Mishra, the head of the CLP, commented on this by saying: "Ministers can read out budget documents and refer to books, periodicals, and documents during the address, but they cannot read out a written speech." The Congressman pleaded with the Speaker to rule on this matter because it had sparked a disagreement in the Assembly.
In the midst of everything, members of the Treasury Bench rose from their seats and yelled insults at the BJP and the Central government over a various topics.
The members of the ruling party (Biju Janata Dal) claimed that they were not permitted to speak in the House because opposition members had already used up their allotted time of Zero Hour.
Arun Sahoo and Debi Prasad Mishra were subsequently given permission by the Speaker to speak during the Zero Hour. With issues involving the Mahanadi river, the members of the Treasury Bench raised a commotion in the Legislature and demanded the chair deliver a decision. Thereafter, the Speaker gave the Water Resources Minister instructions to address the House regarding this matter.
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