Bhubaneswar: The first day of the Odisha Assembly that began with Governor Ganeshi Lal's address went on to witness uproarious scenes staged by the Congress followed by the party MLAs staging a walkout.
The Congress leaders created noise within the well of the house protesting the proceedings where the speaker of the Assembly did not introduce the Leader of the Opposition formally.
"It is unfortunate that even before the BJP submitted a requisition to claim the position of LoP and their candidate for the post, the house proceedings began. When I raked up the issue in the House, the Speaker seemed to act like a 'deaf' person," said veteran Congress leader Narasingha Mishra.
"The BJD and BJP are no more opposition parties, they are together as one party given the understanding they shared by supporting each other in nominating one candidate for the RS. So where is the Opposition party?," questioned senior Congress leader Sura Routray.
Later, Bhawanipatna BJP MLA & LoP Pradipta Nayak clarified: "All documents were submitted but it was delayed a bit due to last moment declaration. The Speaker mentioning me as LoP might be based on media reports."
"The Office of Speaker was informed about the LoP ahead of the Assembly session. BJD is not an ally of any party," says government Chief Whip Pramila Mallick in response to Narasingha Mishra's comments.