House adjourned amid coronavirus threat in Bhubaneswar

BHUBANESWAR: The budget session of the assembly on Friday was adjourned until March 29 because of fears of coronavirus despite BJP MLAs vehemently opposing the move.
Speaker Surya Narayan Patro announced the adjournment after an hour-long discussion on a motion moved by government chief whip Pramila Mallik. The move came minutes after chief minister Naveen Patnaik declared Covid-19 as a ‘disaster for the state’ and approved a special package to deal with it.
The motion, which was passed through a voice vote, said the budget of all departments would be passed without discussion, using a guillotine, when the house reassembled on March 30.
While moving the motion, Mallik said, “Coronavirus has spread to more than 100 countries. The World Health Organization has declared it as a pandemic. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik has also expressed concern over the alarming situation and initiated a number of steps to prevent the spread of the virus in the state.”
The opposition Congress supported the move, whereas the BJP MLAs accused the state government of running away from issues like deposits of the Jagannath Temple in the crisis-hit Yes Bank by adjourning the house 27 days before the schedule.
Participating in the discussion, leader of opposition Pradipta Kumar Naik said, “Going by the current situation in Odisha, there is no need to adjourn the house. The Parliament and other state assemblies are in session. Odisha, as of now, does not have a single confirmed case, There seems to be a big conspiracy behind this decision.”