Bhubaneswar, Feb 7: The Odisha Assembly on Wednesday pandemonium as the opposition members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) caused disruption over the use of parboiled rice in Mahaprasad.
Speaker Pramila Mallik adjourned the session multiple times as pandemonium continued.
As the Assembly convened for the day's proceedings, BJP members entered the well of the house carrying placards and chanting slogans against the use of parboiled rice as Mahaprasad in the Sri Jagannath temple.
The BJP members alleged that parboiled rice had been mixed with rice collected by the Arpan Raths ahead of the inauguration of the Puri Jagannath Temple Heritage Corridor Project. In response, members from the Treasury bench countered by raising the issue of the politicization of the murder of a minor girl named Pari by the BJP.
The chaotic situation led Speaker Pramila Mallick to adjourn the house until 11:30 am without conducting any business. When the session resumed after the adjournment, the BJP members continued their protests, prompting another adjournment until 12:30 pm. Eventually, the house was adjourned until 4 pm due to the persistent uproar from the BJP members over the use of parboiled rice in the Mahaprasad.
Following the adjournment, the BJD members gathered at the Mahatma Gandhi statue within the Assembly premises, demanding an apology from Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and BJP Chief Whip Mohan Majhi for politicizing the Pari murder case.
The Special Children Court in Nayagarh had recently sentenced a juvenile accused in the case to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment.
In the afternoon, the BJP members also created ruckus in the house over the same issue forcing the Speaker to adjroun the proceedings.
