India News | Odisha Assembly Paralysed as Opposition Demands CM's Resignation

Bhubaneswar, Mar 10 (PTI) The proceeding of the Odisha Assembly on Friday was brought to a standstill as the opposition demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Naveen patnaik over ex-minister Naba Kishore Das's assassination case.

Friday was the first day of the Budget Session's second phase where a number of financial issues were slated for discussion. However, an uproar over the Naba Das murder case dominated the proceedings, forcing Speaker B K Arukha to adjourn the House at least six times.

Also Read | Video: Rat Bites 8-Year-Old Boy At Fast Food Outlet In Hyderabad, Family Files FIR.

Finally the House was adjourned till Monday after the all-party meeting convened by the Speaker B K Arukha failed to resolve the issues. The Opposition BJP and Congress members demanded resignation of Patnaik as he also holds the home portfolio under which Odisha Police works.

While the BJP demanded a CBI inquiry into the incident, the Congress members sought for a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe as they claimed that the Odisha Police's Crime Branch has completely failed to undertake a neutral stand on the matter. They alleged that the CB probe was only focusing on Gopal Das, the self-confessed murderer and had ignored the "conspiracy angle" in the assassination incident.

Also Read | El Nino Weather Patterns May Affect India Adversely, Likely To Cause Monsoon Rain Deficit: Experts.

As soon as the House assembled for the day, both the Congress and BJP members trooped into the Well of the House demanding Patnaik's resignation over the issue. Raising slogans, both the opposition parties, demanded an impartial probe into the incident.

The Congress members were seen on a chair in front of the Speaker's podium, while BJP members raised anti-government slogans from the Well of the House.

Unable to run the House, Speaker B K Arukha first adjourned the proceedings till 11.30 am. When the House reassembled again, similar scene was observed, forcing the Speaker to again adjourn the proceedings till 4 pm.

Arukha had to adjourn the House for four more times in the post lunch session during which he convened an all party meeting to resolve the issue. "The state government should engage an SIT to probe into the Naba Das murder case as the crime branch has utterly failed to investigate into the case. The CB investigation is only Gopal Das-centric and no progress has been made in looking into into the conspiracy angles," Congress Pradeep Bahinipati told reporters outside the House. Similarly, BJP chief whip Mohan Majhi alleged: "So far 41 days have passed since killing of a cabinet minister and the state government is in the dark over the motive of the crime. Therefore we demand resignation of the chief minister and a CBI probe."

The Budget session, which commenced on February 21, will continue till April 6 with a break from March 2 to 9.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)