Prakash Mishra issue gobbles up Question Hour again

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Aug 26:

It was the former DGP Prakash Mishra issue that again disrupted proceedings of the Odisha Assembly during the Question Hour today forcing Speaker Niranjan Pujari to adjourn the House till 12.30 PM.

With the start of Question Hour, Opposition members both from the Congress and BJP sat on a dharna inside the well of the House.

The Opposition members protested against the Speaker expunging references made by members to the former DGP Prakash Mishra issue during the debate on the adjournment motion on law and order situation in the state held on Tuesday from the proceedings of the House.

The House could only run for a minute and the Speaker adjourned it till 12.30 PM amid ruckus.

“If a debate in the Assembly goes against the government, the Speaker will expunge it from the proceedings of the House and it won’t get media coverage. Then should we speak to the wall? Protesting against the undemocratic and unconstitutional order of the Speaker, all members of the Opposition today sat on dharna inside the well of the House. The Prakash Mishra case is against the government and Chief Minister. The government is scared and disturbed when it comes up. Whenever, wherever it is discussed, the government gets panicked and looks for a way to escape. Neither it has the patience to listen, nor the guts to give a statement on the issue,” said Narasingh Mishra, Leader of the Opposition to reporters.

“Whenever there will be debates in this august house, issues like this will come up. Whichever suits them will be recorded in the proceedings while they will point out the ones that don’t suit them to the Speaker who will order expunging it from the proceedings of the debate in the House. This can never be called a sign of a healthy democracy,” said Basanta Kumar Panda, leader of the BJP legislative party.