BJD disrupts House over Mahanadi water dispute

BHUBANESWAR: Even as the Central Water Commission (CWC) has convened a meeting in New Delhi on April 12 to discuss the inter-state disputes over projects on Mahanadi river, the ruling BJD on Wednesday created ruckus in the Assembly on the issue forcing Speaker Pradip Kumar Amart to adjourn the House for the day.

The second phase of the budget session started on a stormy note with members of the treasury benches shouting slogans against the Centre protesting the delay in providing the Terms of Reference (ToR) for Mahanadi tribunal and construction of barrages on the upper stream of Ib river by Chhattisgarh Government.

As the House assembled for the day and the question hour began, ruling party members were on their feet shouting slogans against the Centre for its apathy to Odisha. They accused the Centre of conspiring to deprive Odisha of its share of water by deliberately delaying the announcement of ToR of the newly constituted tribunal to adjudicate the disputes with the neighbouring Chhattisgarh.  The House witnessed noisy scenes amid slogan-shouting by BJD lawmakers even as Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Surjya Narayan Patro was replying to a question.

As nothing could be heard in the din, the Speaker requested the agitating members to restore normalcy and cooperate in running the business of the House. As his repeated requests went unheeded, he adjourned the Assembly till 3 pm.

Soon after the adjournment of the House, members of the ruling party including Ministers sat on a dharna near the Mahatma Gandhi statute on the Assembly premises to register their protest against the Central apathy.

Slamming the State Government, Leader of Opposition Narasingh Mishra told reporters that it is the responsibility of the ruling party to ensure smooth functioning of the Assembly. “When protector turns predator, whom shall we approach? The protest by the ruling party indicates that it is mentally prepared to sit in the opposition after next election,” Mishra remarked.

Mishra further said two House committees on Mahanadi issue were constituted. While one committee was headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the Speaker is the chairman of the other committee. However, both the committees have never met.

Dubbing the BJD protest as a farce, BJP MLA Pradip Purohit said the Opposition is ready for another round of discussion on the issue. He attributed the delay in the announcement of ToR to non-submission of requisite information on the dispute to the tribunal.

The State Government is not prepared for a discussion for the fear that it will be exposed. The post-lunch session was also marred by disturbances created by the ruling party.

Cong, BJP stage walk out

The opposition Congress and BJP members on Wednesday walked out from the Assembly protesting disruption of the House by ruling BJD over Mahanadi issue. Accusing the State Government of deliberately disrupting the proceedings of the Assembly to avoid a discussion on the alleged irregularities in paddy procurement in Kendrapara district, Leader of Opposition Narasingh Mishra said the ruling party cannot escape from the scam.

As the House reassembled at 3 pm, Mishra questioned the motive of the ruling party in disrupting the House on an issue which had been discussed several times in past. He said two House committees have been constituted on Mahanadi water dispute but the committees never met. Mishra said Congress MLA Ansuman Mohanty had written to the Chief Minister on the matter and a probe had been ordered, but no headway had been made in this connection.

However, Government Chief Whip Amar Satpathy said the Mahanadi water issue was more important for the State and BJD raised it in the interest of the people. Unhappy over the argument, members of the Congress and the BJP staged a walkout.