Bhubaneswar: The State Assembly Wednesday witnessed noisy scenes as the Opposition MLAs raised the issue of absence of ministers in the House during Zero Hour, forcing Speaker Surya Narayan Patro to advise the government Chief Whip to ensure that at least one minister is present when the proceedings are underway.
At 12.22 pm, when Congress Legislature Party leader Narasingha Mishra was speaking on the mysterious death of a woman panchayat extension officer in Jajpur district October 16, senior party members Taraprasad Bahinipati and Santosh Singh Saluja drew the attention of the Speaker that there is no minister in the House. They said at least one member of the Council of Ministers must be present when the House is in session.
Calling it BJD government’s lack of respect towards the House proceedings, Bahinipati, Saluja and others rushed to the well of the House and shouted slogans. The BJP members also strongly condemned the absence of any minister in the House. Going a step forward, Mishra started headcount of BJD lawmakers and found only 25 of the 113 members were present in the House and not a single minister.
As the issue cropped up, at least four ministers – Sudam Marndi (Revenue and Disaster Management), Bikram Keshari Arukha (Parliamentary Affairs), Niranjan Pujari (Finance) and Padmini Dian (Handlooms & Textiles) –rushed to the House.
“It is the responsibility of the government Chief Whip to ensure that at least one minister should be present when the House is functioning. Please ensure that one member from the government should be there,” the Speaker instructed government Chief Whip Pramila Mallick.
While targeting the state government, Mishra said, “We are not here to tell the walls, media or gallery. Whatever the members say or raise issues should reach the government through ministers. It is a fact that media is there to ensure that the issues debated in House reach the people, but ministers have specific roles to play in the Assembly. Therefore, at least one of the ministers needs to remain in the House.”
Speaking to reporters outside the House, member Jaynarayan Mishra (BJP) said, “Chief Minister, who is the leader of the House, remains absent. Therefore, his party colleagues too don’t bother about the Assembly and remain absent during the proceedings.”
The Assembly had also witnessed a similar situation Tuesday. BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on the first day of the winter session of the Assembly November 13, had asked all his party MLAs to be punctual and attend all the proceedings. The direction, though not a whip, was issued for truant MLAs after Question Hour.
Patnaik has instructed Chief Whip Pramilla Mallick to keep a tab on the attendance of the BJD members in the House and report him daily at 11.30 am. The party president has also informed the MLAs that they need to take permission from him if anyone needs leave for more than two days.
Mallick admitted that there was no minister in the House for some time. “The ministers had gone to lobby of the Assembly for the time being and they would return immediately to join the proceeding,” Mallick said adding she will ensure that at least one minister remains present in the House hereafter.