Kamal Ghorui
Bhubaneswar: Law minister Prithiviraj Harichandan on Wednesday accused the BJD and Congress of wasting Rs 12 crore of taxpayers’ money by stalling the assembly for a week, even as members of both parties wore black T-shirts and staged protests inside and outside the House demanding the resignation of health minister Mukesh Mahaling over the March 16 SCB fire that killed 12 patients. The opposition has been staging protest on every working day in assembly since March 17.After the House reconvened around 10.30am, opposition members rushed to the well, shouting anti-govt slogans and demanding Mahaling’s ouster. Both BJD and Congress legislators, dressed in black T-shirts, continued their demonstrations despite repeated appeals from speaker Surama Padhy to return to their seats and allow proceedings to function.With the din refusing to subside, barely a few minutes later, the speaker adjourned the House till 11.30am. When the House met again, opposition members resumed their protests, disrupting Zero Hour.Speaking during the brief window of Zero Hour, law minister Harichandan said, “Each sitting day costs the state exchequer Rs 68–70 lakh,” adding that nearly Rs 12 crore has already been wasted due to continuous disruptions.While Rs 70 lakh per day would mean Rs 4.9 crore in seven days, the minister must have taken account of salary and allowances of members and govt employees during the period to calculate the total loss, a govt officer said.Some treasury bench members, meanwhile, raised concerns over the Biju Naveen Inspirational Trust, alleging it was created to divert BJD funds.Zero Hour continued amid protests for around 20 minutes, after which the House was adjourned briefly and then till 1pm. The Speaker convened an all-party meeting in an effort to break the deadlock.When the House reassembled at 1pm, opposition members boycotted the proceedings. CM Mohan Charan Majhi initiated discussion on demands for grants of the home and general administration departments before the House was adjourned again till 4pm.Outside the assembly, BJD MLA Arun Sahoo said the agitation would continue until the health minister resigned or was removed. Congress Legislature Party leader Ramachandra Kadam reiterated the same demand. Opposition chief whip Pramila Mallik said, “Let the CM prove himself to be a strong CM by sacking the health minister.”Countering the opposition, BJP MLA Ashok Mohanty accused the opposition of intentionally derailing proceedings. “The BJD was divided over the Biju Naveen Inspirational Trust issue and was resorting to protests to divert attention from the controversy,” he said.
