Bhubaneswar, March 14: Opposition members stalled proceedings of the Assembly for the second consecutive day today as they stuck to the demand of tabling facts and documents related to the dal scam. A belligerent Opposition also boycotted discussions on the water resources department budget as their demand was not met.

Soon after the Assembly met this morning, Opposition leader Bhupinder Singh pointed out that the Opposition members had raised certain questions pertaining to the dal scam on Friday through special mentions. According to Assembly rules, it was mandatory for the government to give its reply within 48 hours.

“The government should reply immediately because the requisite 48-hour period has already passed,” said Singh.

But speaker Pradip Amat did not pay heed to this plea and asked parliamentary affairs minister Raghunath Mohanty to start the question-answer business listed for the day.

Miffed with the speaker’s action, Congress members rushed to the well of the House shouting slogans against chief minister Naveen Patnaik. Some held banners accusing the chief minister of being involved in the dal scam.

As the chaotic scenes continued, speaker Amat adjourned the proceedings till 12.30pm. On resumption of business, Amat requested the agitating Opposition members to go back to their seats and participate in the discussion on the dal scam. However, Congress members refused to participate in the discussion unless relevant documents were tabled. As the deadlock prevailed, the speaker adjourned the proceedings till 3pm. Soon after the House reassembled, the Opposition sought a ruling from the Chair, asking the government to immediately place the documents relating to dal scam.

Government chief whip Rabi Narayan Pani said the government was ready for a discussion on the issue. However, a PIL was pending on the matter in the high court and the state government had placed the facts through an affidavit in the court. Hence, it would not be desirable to table the documents in the House, he argued. Delivering his ruling, speaker Amat directed the government to place the facts on the dal scam barring those under disposal of the high court. Not satisfied with the ruling, the Opposition continued their dharna.