BJD, BJP Fight Banner War in Odisha Assembly Premises, House Sees Repeated Adjournments

Bhubaneswar: It was a day of banner war on Wednesday between Odisha’s ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) outside the State Legislative Assembly.

Soon after the House was adjourned following turmoil in the question hour due to intense war of words between the treasury bench members and the opposition parties, both the BJD and BJP members gathered at separate places in the Assembly premises and held protests against each other.

The BJD legislators gathered under the podium of Mahatma Gandhi statue and shouted slogans against the veteran BJP leader and Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan accusing him of spreading lies in the sensational Pari murder case that took place in 2020 in Nayagarh district.

“BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan and his party leader Mohan Chandra Majhi must apologise for misleading the people of Odisha on Pari murder case. The court has punished the real accused involved in the crime on Tuesday. Unfortunately, these two leaders organised protest rallies, including a march from Bhubaneswar to Nayagarh, accusing a leader of our party that he was involved in the crime. The BJP leaders now stand exposed and they must apologize to the people of Odisha for their misconduct and misinformation,” said the BJD lawmakers.

Not to lag behind, the BJP lawmakers held a protest on the Assembly building entrance accusing the BJD leaders of misutilising the rice and money collected from the public on the eve of inauguration of Srimandir Parikrama Prakalpa of Lord Jagannath temple at Puri.

Inside the Assembly, the BJP MLAs rushed to the well of the House and created ruckus over the issue of misuse of rice and money collected on the eve of inauguration of Srimandir Parikrama Prakalpa.