Bhubaneswar, March 11 The Odisha Assembly witnessed heated exchanges and was briefly adjourned on Wednesday following a verbal confrontation between members of the opposition BJD and the ruling BJP over the law and order situation in the state.
The issue was raised during Zero Hour when opposition whip Pramila Mallik of the BJD criticized the state government, accusing it of failing to maintain law and order.
Mallik cited an alleged attack on Shergarh block chairman Krushna Chandra Nayak at his office premises on Tuesday evening.
"Some miscreants attacked Nayak, leaving him seriously injured," she said, adding that he is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital in Bhubaneswar.
Mallik alleged that crimes have been on the rise across Ganjam district.
Stating that no one is safe in Odisha under BJP rule, BJD member Sarada Prasanna Jena alleged that even people's representatives are not spared.
He claimed that people supporting the BJP were behind the attack on Nayak.
BJD member Dhruba Charan Sahoo alleged that a woman Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) officer was attacked by BJP miscreants in Rajnagar, Kendrapara district.
"Instead of arresting the accused, the BJP government transferred the officer. This emboldens the miscreants," Sahoo alleged.
Treasury bench members Tankadhar Tripathy and Babu Singh countered the allegations, referring to incidents during the previous BJD regime, including the killing of a cabinet minister and an MLA allegedly attacking police personnel at a police station.
The allegations and counter-allegations between the ruling and opposition members created a noisy scene, forcing Speaker Surama Padhy to adjourn the proceedings for 10 minutes during the pre-lunch session.