Congress to boycott monsoon session of Odisha Assembly

BHUBANESWAR: The Congress today announced its decision to boycott the remaining days of the ongoing monsoon session of Odisha Assembly as a mark of protest over the manner in which Bills are being passed in the House.

The Congress took this decision after walking out of the House while discussion was being held on the Odisha Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Bill-2015.

The session was scheduled to continue till Saturday.

"We are boycotting this session as the ruling party does not want our presence in the House. Our members are not given any scope to raise an issue or talk on any burning topic," Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra told reporters outside the Assembly.

Dubbing it as a "Black Day" for the democracy in Odisha, Mishra said, "Today, when it (land grab bill) was being discussed, we drew the attention of the Speaker demanding an explanation of the clauses of the Bill. But it was not accepted."

Bills are passed without discussion, he said and alleged that the House runs at the whims of the chief minister and not as per the rules.

As the Speaker went ahead with the proceedings, members of the Opposition party rushed to the Well of the House and attempted to climb the Speaker's podium. They claimed that the Congress wanted to participate in the discussion, but were denied permission to speak.

The Bill was passed in absence of Opposition after Congress and BJP members walked out.

Mishra said Congress MLAs will meet the Governor SC Jamir tomorrow and apprise him about the developments in the Odisha Assembly.