Rising from the adjournment that obituary mention had led the Orissa Assembly into on the day of its commencement, as it started on Sept.8 to its scheduled business, the Speaker had to stop the proceedings, the treasury bench having stonewalled the House on the issue of minimum support price for paddy. Two minutes long non-legislative activism of the ruling party MLAs forced an adjournment till 3pm.
But, then came the Opposition Leader’s demand to condemn the contempt shown to the House by the Prime Minister in refusing to meet the Orissa Assembly House Committee members on the same issue. It made the Speaker adjourn the House again till Monday.
An adjournment intended by the main Opposition Congress over MSP was scheduled for discussion; and, therefore, the Speaker should not have stopped the proceedings under the pretense of disruptions beyond his control, though stopping the scheduled business was a treasury bench trick for hijacking Assembly time to rush to Rajbhawan over the same issue in pursuit of political milage, the Opposition Leader alleged.