House adjourned twice as din continues over Chitgate

Bhubaneswar: The ongoing winter session of Odisha Assembly seems to be jinxed. Today was its 13th working day in succession which witnessed unruly scenes and frequent adjournments as Opposition members disrupted the proceedings demanding discussion on the multi-crore chit fund scam.

No sooner the House assembled for the day, Opposition members, including Congress chief whip Tara Prasad Bahinipati, climbed onto the Speaker’s podium and tried to disrupt his speech. Other members holding anti-government placards on the chit fund issue were seen shouting slogans near the well and did not allow the treasury members to present replies during the Question Hour.

Amidst chaos, though Speaker Niranjan Pujari tried to manage the House overlooking the hullabaloo, it could not be run for more than five minutes. He then adjourned the House first at 10.40 am and then at 11.45 am till 3.00 pm.

Meanwhile, the Speaker has reiterated his ruling on the chit fund issue on which the Opposition wanted a discussion. “Since the CBI has taken up the case and the matter is sub-judice, it can’t be discussed in House,” the Speaker said.