Odisha House adjourned sine die

The Odisha Assembly was today adjourned sine die after conducting business for two consecutive days with vacant opposition benches amidst a boycott of the House by both Congress and BJP members who were protesting alleged partisan action by the Speaker.
Like yesterday, Speaker Niranjan Pujari adjourned the House soon after the question hour till 3 PM with an appeal to the opposition legislators to participate in the proceedings during the post-lunch session.
However, on the last day of the monsoon session, Congress MLAs along with Leader of Opposition Narasingh Mishra chose instead to stage a dharna near the Mahatma Gandhi statue on the Assembly premises.

Congress MLAs were seen holding banners voicing concern over issues like infant deaths at Sishu Bhawan in Cuttack due to alleged negligence. They also accused the Speaker of trying to throttle their voice in the House and gag democracy.
Mishra charged that the ruling BJD was attempting to gag the voice of the opposition. Stating that issues like that of the infant deaths could have been properly raised in the House if the opposition was allowed to do so, the Congress stalwart claimed that whatever was stated by opposition members in the House was being expunged.
Congress members had yesterday sought to draw the attention of Governor SC Jamir to their grievances while BJP MLAs had held a sit-in demonstration near the Mahatma Gandhi statue.

Opposition members had on Thursday walked out of the House protesting against the manner in which the Odisha Land Grabbing (Prevention) Bill, 2015, was passed.

The House had also passed the Odisha Municipal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2015, the Odisha Police Bill, 2015, and the Odisha Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2015, in the absence of Opposition members.
BJP Legislature Party leader Basant Kumar Panda, too, had said that there was no option other than to boycott the House as there was an attempt to suppress the voice of the opposition.
As many as nine Bills were passed during the monsoon session of the Assembly, which had commenced on August 18.