Bhubaneswar: Congress MLAs Wednesday moved privilege motions against two Odisha ministers for allegedly misleading the House and a BJP legislator for misinterpreting the comments of the Congress Legislature Party leader.
Immediately after the question hour in the Assembly, Barabati-Cuttack MLA Mohammed Moquim moved a privilege notice against Odisha Agriculture and Farmer Empowerment Minister Arun Kumar Sahoo and demanded his resignation.
“I moved the privilege motion against the minister as he has attempted to mislead the House by giving facts not based on truth,” Moquim told reporters outside the House.
The Congress lawmaker in his privilege notice said, “While replying a question on November 13, the minister has said that the state has identified 45,965 ineligible beneficiaries under the KALIA Yojana. But the information under RTI Act revealed that (there are) 1,72,908 ineligible beneficiaries under the scheme only in 10 districts of the state.”
KALIA, an abbreviation of Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation of the Odisha government is a beneficiary scheme for farmers to help them financially by providing a certain amount at a definite time.
Moquim in his notice said, “Either (the) Honble Minister has intentionally suppressed the fact or misled the House by giving false facts, which amounts to a breach of privilege of the House”.
He said, “In view of this, the Hon’ble Agriculture and Farmers Empowerment Minister deserve to be punished for the breach of privilege.”
The Congress leader urged Speaker SN Patro that the matter be referred to the Committee of Privilege to enquire, investigate and report.
Another Congress lawmaker Santosh Singh Saluja of Kantabanji moved a privilege motion against Water Resources Minister Raghunandan Das accusing him of misleading the House by giving differing facts on irrigation at Terrekola block of Bolangir district.
Saluja pointed out that the minister in one reply to the House had said that 26.93 per cent of the agricultural land in Terrekola block was irrigated, while on another occasion the same day had said that the figure was 27 per cent.
He said that both the replies were made in the House by Das November 14. How can the minister give separate replies to one question? Saluja asked and urged the speaker to bring the matter to the notice of the Privilege Committee of the Assembly.
Congress Legislature Party Leader Narasingha Mishra too moved a privilege motion against BJP spokesman Golkak Mohapatra, who had demanded an apology from him for making insulting remarks against Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati.
“I have been misquoted by the BJP spokesman. I have not made any derogatory or insulting remarks against the Shankaracharya in the House. Had that been the case, the speaker would have expunged it from the Assembly’s record. Nothing of that kind has happened,” Mishra said.
He accused BJP spokesman Mohapatra of misinterpreting his comments on Shankaracharya.
Mohapatra had Monday accused Mishra of insulting Shankaracharya Saturday when he was speaking during the passage of a Bill.
Mohapatra had demanded an unconditional apology from the Congress Legislature Party Leader.
As I have not made any insulting remarks against the Shankaracharya, there is no point of tendering any apology. I stand by what I said in the Assembly, Mishra said.
Speaker SN Patro said he will examine all the privilege notices.
(PTI)