Bhubaneswar: Orissa Assembly on Friday witnessed uproar as Opposition Congress and BJP demanded a discussion on
their privilege notices accusing Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik
of misleading the House on the proposed Vedanta university.
After Congress and BJP separately moved privilege notices
during Zero Hour, Speaker Pradip Kumar Amat said he would take
a decision soon. But, Congress members rushed to the well and
shouted anti-government slogans demanding a discussion.
As Amat's repeated pleas for silence went unheeded, he
adjourned the House first for 15 minutes and later till 3 pm.
While shouting anti-Patnaik solgans, agitating Congress
members unsuccessfully tried to climb the Speaker's podium. A
Congress MLA was seen damaging the mike in front of the Chair.
Submitting the party's privilege notice, BJP member
Jaynarayan Mishra said Patnaik made a contradictory statement
regarding the change of status of the developer of Vedanta
university from private limited to public limited company.
"The date mentioned by the chief minister in his statement
is misleading in the face of the High Court judgement," he
said.
Therefore, he said, Patnaik's statement had not only
amounted to contempt of the House but also amounted to
contempt of court.
"The true colour of the Chief Minister in protecting the
illegalities and the fraud committed by the company is
exposed," the BJP said in its privilege notice.
PTI
First Published: Friday, November 26, 2010, 18:39