Hunger death issue rocks Orissa Assembly

Bhubaneswar, Jun 01 (UNI) Opposition demand for discussion on poverty and hunger death in Sinapali block in Nuapada district raised furore on the opening day of Orissa Assembly forcing the Chair to adjourn the House thrice without transacting the question hour business.

The trouble started when Leader of Opposition in the house J B Pattnaik, raised the issue through a point of order soon after the House passed obituary references on five former members.

Mr Pattnaik amid opposition from the treasury bench members, said despite all tall claims of the state government, the tribals in the Sinapali Block in Nuapada district were dying of hunger and were forced to consume stone powders in the absence of any rice.

He demanded that the issue being very serious should be debated first suspending the business of the House. Speaker Maheswar Mohanty, however, asked the leader of Opposition to raise the issue after the question hour.

Mr Pattnaik insisted that the matter be discussed first in view of the seriousness of the issue, the Speaker questioned him as to why he did not bring the issue through an adjournment motion. This irked the Congress members who shouted slogan against the chief minister by holding him responsible for the hunger deaths and acute poverty in the state.

The House again witnessed furore as the treasury bench members started shouting at the Opposition for disrupting the business of the House during the question hour.

State Panchyat Raj and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Raghunath Mohanty, rising on a point of order, said the state government was ready to discuss any issue raised by the Opposition members and advised the opposition to bring the matter in proper forum.

But the agitated Opposition continued to occupy the well and raised anti government slogan demanding discussion on the hunger deaths in Sinapali block.

Sensing the Opposition mood, the Speaker adjourned the house for 30 minutes. The House reassembled after the adjournment but no business was taken up as Deputy Speaker Prahallad Dora again adjourned the House for 30-minutes.

The House was finally adjourned for the third time by Mr Dora till 1700 hours to take up the annual budget.

UNI