'Assembly Protocol Breach:' Opposition Chief Whip says BJD MLAs won't attend orientation programme 

The BJD MLAs won’t participate in the two-day orientation programme for elected legislators of the Odisha Legislative Assembly, beginning August 17. 

In a letter to the Speaker of the Odisha Assembly, Opposition Chief Whip, Pramila Mallik informed the same.  

In the letter, she has cited two reasons for her party MLAs abstaining from the programme. 

“Odisha Assembly, like any other legislative body in the country, has its own traditions and conventions. This assembly represents the collective wisdom of people of Odisha and it's our responsibility to maintain the dignity and integrity of this August house. As per those conventions, all functions held within the Assembly's premises involve only those directly connected with it from Odisha Assembly /Odisha. Inviting the Central Minister to inaugurate the programme and address the MLAs within Assembly premises goes against the established conventions of the dignity of the Assembly,” read her letter.  

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Mentioning about the second reason, she said, “The Hon'ble CM is the head of the Government of Odisha and he is the Leader of the House. It is undignified to make the Hon'ble CM an ordinary speaker at the function within the Assembly premises. Relegating the State Chief Minister to a second-category functionary in a function within the Assembly premises undermines the state and the pre-eminence of the state as recognised in our federal set-up. Hon’ble CM is supposed to be ahead of the Central Ministers in our established system of protocol followed by the government in all functions held within the state. This is a significant violation of protocol and undermines the dignity of the Hon'ble CM in his own state.”

No reactions were received from the Chief Minister or the BJP.