Bhubaneswar, Sept. 11: The Assembly today witnessed frequent adjournments all through the day as the Congress and the BJP demanded the resignation of chief minister Naveen Patnaik, who holds the works portfolio, for yesterday's overbridge collapse in the city that claimed one life.
As Opposition members occupied the well and shouted slogans, an agitated Congress chief whip Tara Prasad Bahinipati stood on a chair in a bid to disrupt the proceedings by snatching away official papers from the Speaker's table.
The pandemonium in the House finally forced Speaker Pradip Kumar Amat to convene an all-party meeting to resolve the deadlock.
Normality was restored in the Assembly in the late afternoon after it was agreed that the Assembly would discuss the issue at an allotted time later.
The Opposition members were angry as the Speaker did not permit a discussion on the issue and allowed the chief minister to make a statement on the tragedy. According to Assembly rules, discussion on an issue is not allowed after the statement made by the government.
'I had given a motion for taking up a discussion on this matter suspending the Question Hour. It was not allowed. Instead, the chief minister was permitted to make a statement. This is purely undemocratic and we protest this,' said Leader of the Opposition Narasingha Mishra.
In his statement, Naveen said that an unnatural death case had been registered in connection with the tragic incident in which a precious human life was lost and 11 persons were injured.
Besides, a criminal case had been registered against the executing agency, Panda Infraproject (India) Private Limited, deputy executive engineer Banshidhar Praharaj and assistance engineer Kishore Rout.
Both the engineers were placed under suspension yesterday.
'Further, the executive engineer concerned Dukhabandhu Behera has also been suspended for prima facie lapses,' he said.
Stating that a high-level inquiry has been ordered and the inquiry report will be submitted within a week, Naveen said: 'My government will ensure that stringent and exemplary action is taken against all persons responsible for this tragic incident.'
Not satisfied with the statement, the Congress and BJP legislators trooped into the well, insisting that the chief minister should resign.
Talking to reporters outside the House, Bahinipati said: 'The chief minister heads the works department and he is directly accountable. He should step down immediately for the lapses.'
BJP MLA Pradip Purohit, too, said: 'The chief minister should follow Union railways minister Suresh Prabhu, who had offered to resign owning up moral responsibility for the railway accidents.'
Purohit also demanded a clarification from the chief minister on the alleged links of BJD MLA and former law minister Arun Sahoo with the Panda Infraprojects.
Sahoo, however, clarified that he had 'no relation, direct or indirect, with any commercial organisation' and dared the Opposition to prove the allegation and initiate steps for his disqualification from the Assembly membership.
