BHUBANESWAR: The Assembly on Saturday suffered a complete washout with Opposition BJD creating pandemonium over Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s remarks that government jobs were on sale during the former’s regime.
As the House assembled for the day and Speaker Surama Padhy allowed the question hour to start, BJD members trooped into the well and raised slogans demanding a clarification from the chief minister. As nothing could be heard in the din, the Speaker adjourned the House till 4 pm.
Condemning the chief minister’s statement, Opposition chief whip Pramila Mallik demanded a ruling from the Speaker directing him to give a statement in the House. Describing the remarks as a conspiracy to defame the BJD, Mallik dared the CM to let the people know in which markets and shops government jobs were being sold.
“The BJP government now has been in power for over six months. The chief minister is head of the government and all agencies are under his command. When he is claiming that he knows who are involved in the money for job scam why no action has been taken against them,” Mallik asked.
BJD member Ganeswar Behera also questioned why the state government was not arresting all those who were involved in the job scam. “Who is stopping the chief minister from taking action and sending all the culprits behind bars,” he said.
Coming to the defense of the chief minister, BJP MLA from Nilagiri Santosh Khatua said, “We have all information how coaching centres under the patronage of the then ruling BJD were selling jobs. We also know how question papers were leaked to the coaching centres who were also acting as collection agents for some powerful politicians and government officers behind the job racket. Everything will come out in time,” he said.
While introducing the Odisha Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill in the Assembly on Friday, Majhi accused the former BJD government of selling government jobs in open market and the post of ASO was sold at Rs 25-Rs 30 lakh each.
The Speaker could not bring order to the House in the afternoon session which witnessed noisy scenes as Congress members raked up the Adani bribery issue. Congress members holding placards at their seats demanded discussion on the issue.
The government should name the persons who were bribed by Adani for sell of renewable energy, they said.
