Bhubaneswar: Putting all speculations to the rest, the Biju Janata Dal led by Leader of Opposition (LoP) Naveen Patnaik is on an attacking mode over the issue of Odia Asmita on the very first session of the 17th Odisha Legislative Assembly.
As the session began, LoP Naveen Patnaik raised the issue of Odia Asmita to corner the state government.
The LoP along with the BJD MLAs boycotted the Governor Raghubar Das’s address in the Assembly condemning his son assaulting an Assistant Section Officer and police inaction over the incident.
Naveen said, “My party and I were disappointed and surprised to find that the present government has taken no action on the Governor’s son who had meted out violence to a government officer. We were deeply shocked law and order seem to have broken down in our state”.
The LoP further said, “When I was in the government, ministers MLAs, MPs, senior government servants if they had broken the law, immediate actions were taken. The state government must act according to the law. Because of this, my party marched out of the Assembly at the beginning of session”.
The Congress legislators also staged the walked over the same issue.
Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati said that even though the Governor’s son assaulted an Odia officer, there was no investigation. The Governor today addressed the House in Hindi. It is a setback to Odia Astima, he said while adding that the agitation will continue until the Governor’s son is arrested.
The first session of the 17th Odisha Legislative Assembly will continue till September 13 in two phases. The Odisha budget for 2024-25 will be presented in the Assembly on July 25.