Bhubaneswar, March 23 :     The Congress and the Janata Dal today kicked up a row in the Orissa Assembly, clamouring for a discussion on the alleged involvement of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief and Union steel and mines minister Naveen Patnaik in a Rs 5,000-crore steel scam. Despite vehement protests by BJD members that the House did not have the right to debate the issue, the Congress and the Janata Dal said the matter was relevant to the state since the alleged scam involved steel-manufacturing units such as the Rourkela steel plant. Speaker Chintamani Dyansamantra said the Assembly had discussed central subjects including the railways and ports in the past, but did not allow a discussion immediately. He said he needed to study the issue before taking a decision. Janata Dal president Ashok Das had raked up the issue on Sunday in a letter to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. He had demanded that Patnaik be dismissed immediately for allegedly favouring a few steel manufacturers in the country against ?a kickback of Rs 100 crore.? Das alleged that Patnaik had hiked the referral price of hot-rolled steel coils, ignoring the recommendations of the inter-ministerial committee. He claimed the minister?s decision had ?cleared the decks for Indian manufacturers to enhance their prices? and net Rs 5,000 crore. Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Congress MLA Joydeb Jena called for a discussion. He described the allegations against the Union minister as ?serious.? Government chief whip Gupta Prasad Das also backed him and demanded a debate on the issue. Senior BJD leader Ramkrushna Patnaik protested, saying the charges against the party chief were baseless and unfounded. But Janata Dal and Congress members stuck to their demand, kicking up a furore. Ashok Das of the Janata Dal accused the BJD and its electoral ally, the BJP, of trying to suppress the issue for fear of opening a Pandora?s box. He said a ?businessman raj? was prevailing at the Centre. The Speaker intervened to say the Assembly had discussed central subjects in the past, but reserved his ruling. BJD MLA Panchanan Kanungo said even if the issue was discussed, there was no one to reply since it involved a Union minister. Law minister Raghunath Patnaik said the House had no problem discussing the issue and the chief minister would reply if necessary.