A victim of hooch tragedy. (file picture)

Bhubaneswar/Cuttack, Feb. 27: The Opposition today created a pandemonium in the Odisha Assembly, forcing several adjournments over the Cuttack-Khurda hooch tragedy, which claimed 40 lives last month.

The BJD members, however, successfully persuaded speaker Pradeep Amat to disallow the adjournment motion. The BJD members were united in asking the Speaker to disallow the motion. Excise minister Sarada Nayak said any discussion on the issue in the Assembly would affect the course of investigation.

As the Speaker agreed to the contention of the ruling party, the Opposition created a hullabaloo and forced the Speaker to adjourn the House repeatedly. BJD MLA Damador Rout and other ruling party members urged the Speaker not to entertain the adjournment motion as the House had already discussed the issue earlier and the judicial commission has started its inquiry on this issue.

However, the Opposition members challenged Rout’s contention. The Speaker rejected the Opposition’s demand, stating that any discussion on the hooch tragedy would affect the investigation.

Former Orissa High Court Justice A.S. Naidu had started a probe on the tragedy as the government had asked the commission to complete the inquiry within three months.

Amat said: “The Assembly had already discussed the issue in the form on a question and answer on February 24. The excise minister had already submitted its reply in the Assembly. Besides, the commission of inquiry has started its probe. At this juncture, there is no need to take up the motion for another discussion.”

The Speaker’s ruling sparked off a chain reaction from the Opposition. The Opposition members rushed to the floor of the House and created pandemonium. BJP member Pratap Sarangi and others also climbed on the Assembly reporter’s table and started giving slogans against the government. Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh said that by not allowing the Opposition to take up the adjournment motion for discussion, the Speaker had created a bad precedence.

“Earlier, many issues were discussed in the House on which the judicial commission had been ordered. Though the Speaker enjoys the power to reject an adjournment motion, he should not have rejected this as it involved with the greater interest of the state,” said Singh.

In yet another development, former state excise commissioner Sudarshan Nayak today filed an affidavit in Orissa High Court, stating that 108 “serious irregularities” had been detected against licensees of out-still (OS) liquor (country liquor made from mahua flower and rice) in the 21 OS districts since April last year. Between April 1 and December 31 last year, 10,834 cases were detected and raided and 6,636 offenders have been arrested.

Nayak filed the affidavit in reply to a notice issued by the high court to showcause why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him for non-compliance of the order related to sale of out-still liquor. Khurda collector Roopa Mishra, in the status report, said there had been 16 deaths at Balianta block as a result of consumption of alcohol and medical substances. The PIL was registered on the basis of a letter petition received from secretary of the Nationalist Lawyers’ Forum Nishikanta Mishra.