Bhubaneswar: Expressing disappointment over the incident of alleged assault on an Assistant Section Officer (ASO) by the son of Odisha Governor Raghubar Das, Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik today said law & order has broken down in the state.

"My party and I were disappointed and surprised to find that the present government has taken no action on the Governor's son, who had meted out violence to a government officer. We were deeply shocked by this. Law & order seems to have broken down in our state," said Patnaik.

Mentioning about stringent action against leaders and officials during the BJD government's reign in Odisha, Patnaik said, "When I was in government, ministers, MLAs, MPs, and senior government servants, if they had broken the law, immediate action was taken. The state government must act according to the law. Because of this, my party marched out of the Assembly Hall at the beginning of this session."

Notably, the first session of the 17th Odisha Legislative Assembly began on a stormy note today as Opposition BJD and Congress members staged walkout during Governor Raghubar Das' address.

The Opposition members boycotted the address protesting against the assault incident.

The BJD has been demanding action against Governor Raghubar Das’ son Lalit Kumar and opposing the alleged police inaction in the matter.

Worth mentioning, the BJD has the role of Opposition in the Odisha Assembly for the first time ever, with former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik being the Leader of Opposition.