Odisha Speaker ‘shocked’ over Centre’s reply on Legislative Council

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Assembly Speaker SN Patro on Friday expressed shock and displeasure on Centre’s reply that it has not received any resolution from the Odisha government on setting up of Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad) in the state.

Replying to a question of Biju Janata Dal MP Prasanna Acharya in Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of Law and Justice, Kiren Rijiju on Thursday said that the Central government has not received any resolution adopted by the state assembly for the formation of the Council in Odisha.

However, he said the information is being collected from the state government of Odisha as regards to adoption of resolution.

Expressing dismay over this statement of Rijiju, the Assembly Speaker said it was forwarded way back in 2018 after the State Assembly passed a resolution to that effect.

Patro said the Assembly had passed the resolution on September 6, 2018 and submitted the same to the Centre on September 18, 2018.

The Assembly resolution was submitted to the Secretary General of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and also to the Secretary of Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Law & Justice, he said.

Even the Assembly Secretariat had in the past responded to Parliament’s query on this matter, he pointed out.

“It is shocking to know how the Union Minister has overlooked such an important document of the Odisha Assembly while giving reply in Rajya Sabha,” Patro said.

MP Acharya too expressed shock over the reply and said he will seek clarification from the Law Minister on this issue.

The resolution was passed in the absence of the opposition Congress and the BJP in the House. A total of 104 MLAs including Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, had voted in favour of the resolution.

Currently, only six states in India — Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh, have legislative councils.

–IANS