Assembly stalled over minor girls’ rapes

| | BHUBANESWAR | in Bhubaneswar

The State Assembly on Monday witnessed frequent adjournments and couldn’t conduct normal businesses till 4 pm as Opposition Congress and BJP members kept demanding a discussion on rising number of incidents of sexual assaults on minor girls in the State and a reply from the Chief Minister in this regard.

When the House met, Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra demanded that a motion on the increasing violence against minor girls and women be discussed by suspending the Question Hour. As Speaker Pradeep Kumar Amat didn’t pay any heed to the plea and called Finance Minister Shashi Bhushan Behera to reply to a question, Congress members trouped into the Well of the House and demanded discussions on rapes of two minor girls at Soro and Nilgiri.

As they didn’t relent despite repeated the Speakers’ requests, the latter adjourned the House at 10.32 am till 11.30 am.

When the House reassembled, Mishra again raised the issue and demanded that the Speaker direct the Chief Minister to make a statement on cases of minor girl rapes.

He alleged that cases of rapes and women violence are on the rise in the State as the Government is using police for political purposes only. He spoke about a few incidences where senior officers, despite being apprised by him, showed little interest in probing them.

While the Speaker said he would give his ruling in the evening, Congress and BJP members rushed into the Well and shouted slogans. Unable to the run the House, Amat adjourned the proceedings at 11.35 am till 3 pm.

As Opposition members didn’t relent from sloganeering, the Speaker called for an all-party meeting to find a way out for smooth running of the House and adjourned the House till 3.30 pm and then till 4 pm. However, normalcy restored at 4 pm when the Speaker announced that the issue raised by the Leader of Opposition would be discussed on April 19 (Thursday).

Thereafter, discussions on Demands for Grants of the School and Mass Education Department and the Higher Education Department were held.

The S and ME Expenditure of Rs 14526,98,54,000 and the Higher Education Expenditure of Rs 2294,17,35,000 were passed following discussions.