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With the Odisha Police rescuing a 22-day-old infant allegedly sold by his parents to a couple, the Odisha Assembly today witnessed noisy scenes leading to adjournment of the House for ten minutes.
The issue was raised in the Assembly by Congress member Naba Kishore Das during the Zero Hour.
"Odisha has in the past earned a bad name over child sale issues. Earlier incidents were reported from the poverty stricken Kalahandi and Balangir districts. But this time, the incident took place in the state capital," Das said.
Opposition Chief Whip Tara Prasad Bahinipati claimed the city-based couple sold the infant for Rs 6,000 for food and urged the Speaker to give directions to the government to issue a statement over the issue.
Dubbing its as a "shame" for Odisha, Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra demanded a statement from Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
"The House has every right to know what exactly happened. We request the Speaker to give a ruling to the Chief Minister to give a statement," Mishra said.
As Speaker Niranjan Pujari did not issue any ruling, Opposition members rushed to Well of the House demanding a statement from the government.
Meanwhile, BJP members also raised the issue of total prohibition on the sale of liquor in the state and raised slogans against the government for not holding discussion on it and demanded a statement from the Chief Minister.
