(Top) Pradip Amat and Bhupinder Singh

Bhubaneswar, April 3: The Opposition Congress suffered a loss of face as it failed to mobilise requisite support to move a resolution for the removal of Assembly Speaker Pradip Amat.

With two of its members abstaining from the House defying the party whip, it could manage just 27 votes, falling short by one.

Assembly rules require the support of 28 members for such a resolution being taken up and discussed in the House. BJD member Nrusingha Charan Sahu, who chaired the House when the motion was moved, said only 27 members have supported the resolution and, therefore, the Congress did not have the authority of House to move the resolution.

Two Congress members Nihar Ranjan Mahananda (Atabira) and Mamata Madhi (Chitrakonda) were not present in the House although the party had secured the support of two Independent members — Jitu Patnaik and Braja Kishore Pradhan — in support of its move.

Senior Congress member Santosh Singh Saluja alleged that the resolution could not be moved because of “the failure of the party leadership”. He said: “We made a laughing stock of ourselves. I will bring the matter to the notice of the party high command.”

Congress chief whip Prasad Harichandan said Mahananda had intimated that he would remain absent as he was busy with elections to the local notified area council in his Assembly constituency. It was being held today. However, the legislature party was in dark about the reason for Mamata’s absence.

“We are trying to find out why she was absent. Then we will decide whether to take action against her,” said Congress legislature party leader Bhupinder Singh. The party can initiate action under Anti-defection Act for the removal of a member for defying a party whip.

According to the rules, the Speaker can be removed from the office if a resolution is backed by 28 legislators with a 14-day notice, which requires to be passed in the Assembly by a simple majority.

The Congress, which had given the notice for moving the resolution, has 27 members and backing of two Independent members in the 147-member Assembly. Party MLA from Kotpad Basudev Majhi, who was ill, was brought to the House on a wheelchair to take part in the voting.

The BJP, which has six members with an Independent member supporting it, did not support the resolution when it was taken up today.

Harichandan said: “We brought the resolution to make the people aware about the manner in which the Speaker had been running the House.”

“Instead of being impartial, the Speaker has always tried to protect the interest of the ruling party and throttle the fundamental right to freedom of expressions of the Opposition,” the resolution, read out by the presiding officer in the House, stated.