Bhubaneswar, March 25: The Congress and the BJP today accused the government of announcing policy decisions outside the Assembly when it was in session and the Congress moved a privilege notice against the Naveen Patnaik government.

During zero hour today, Congress chief whip Prasad Harichandan said they came to know about the government’s new excise policy through the media. According to the new policy, fresh tenders would be floated for out-stilled liquor (the brew produced from mahua flowers). The notification had also been issued to this effect. But the government had not yet announced the policy in the House.

He pointed out that the government had also effected a power tariff hike that was reported in the media. The House did not discuss the revised tariff. Taking a sarcastic dig at the government, he referred to the power tariff hike as the government’s “gift to the people on Utkal Divas”.

Harichandan said parliamentary practices demanded that policy decisions be announced in the Assembly when it was in session. “But it seems the government has scant regard for parliamentary practice and democratic norms,” said the Congress leader, who has moved a notice against the government for breach of privilege.

Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh alleged that the government was not taking the Assembly into confidence on important public issues. New BJP legislature party leader Jaynarayan Mishra was also critical of the government’s two major policy announcements outside the House.

Parliamentary affairs minister Kalpataru Das, however, argued that the government had not breached any privilege. “Whatever has been done, has been done according to law,” he said.

On March 12, the Congress had moved a privilege notice against the chief minister for announcing his government’s willingness to reduce the value added tax on aviation fuel from 20 per cent to 5 per cent outside the Assembly.

Both the privilege notices are with the Speaker.