Congress meets Odisha Governor seeking President’s Rule

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, May 7:

MLAs of Odisha unit of Congress today met Governor SC Jamir and requested him to impose President’s Rule in the state.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Leader of Opposition (LOP) Narasingha Mishra said that the Congress legislature party met the Governor to press for three demands.

“We discussed three things with the Governor. Our first demand was ouster of chit fund scam inquiry commission head Justice MM Das. Secondly, we demanded the resignation of Chief Minister. We also requested him to invoke section-356 of the constitution and recommend President’s Rule, in case he doesn’t resign,” said Mishra.

“Odisha must be the only state in India where the ruling party and the government announce that they would not allow the LOP to speak in the Assembly and seek his resignation. They are also trying to washout the budget session until their demands are met. This is against constitutional provisions. This is why President’s Rule is needed in the state,” he added.

Upon being questioned about his absence today in the all-party meeting called by Speaker Niranjan Pujari and possibility of any outcome from the meeting, Mishra said, “A solution is only possible, if the government believes in democracy and respects the opposition as per democratic traditions. A meeting without these won’t be able to bring out a solution. The government is yet to reveal its moves. I guess, a solution might be expected if the leader of the House also joins the meeting”.

It may be noted here that the House was unable to function for the fifth consecutive day today as both ruling and opposition members resorted to sloganeering as soon as the Question Hour started. Even though the Speaker adjourned the House and called for an all party meeting, the Congress leaders were missing as they had been to meet the Governor.

As per latest updates, Congress MLAs including the LOP have attended the ongoing all-party meeting.