Odisha Assembly adjourned till March 29 in view of coronavirus scare

The Odisha Assembly was adjourned till March 29 on Friday in wake of the coronavirus outbreak, even as members of the opposition BJP protested against the speaker's decision.

Speaker S N Patro announced adjournment of the ongoing budget session after a voice vote on a motion moved by government chief whip Pramila Mallik. The motion moved by Mallik said the House may be adjourned till March 29 because of the spread of coronavirus across the world in an alarming way.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has also declared it as a pandemic, she said, adding that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has also made a statement on the situation. The motion also said the discussion on budgetary provisions of different departments which were listed till March 29 may be done away with and the budget passed without discussion on March 30 when the House reassembles.

While Congress members supported the motion, BJP lawmakers opposed the move saying that the situation in the state does not warrant such a drastic move. "There is no need for adjourning the House as Parliament and assemblies in the several states are already in session. We can effectively face the corona challenge through proper discussion, if the House runs as per schedule,"

Leader of Opposition Pradipta Kumar Naik said. BJP MLA Bishnu Sethi said that by adjourning the assembly, the government is triggering "unnecessary panic" among people. "We should not behave like escapists. Adjournment of the House gives a wrong signal. It gives the impression that we are scared of coronavirus. Adjournment of the House is not acceptable at all," senior BJP leader Jay Narayan Mishra said.

Opposition Chief Whip Mohan Majhi said though schools, colleges and cinema halls are shut in Delhi, Parliament and the Delhi Assembly are in session. Majhi further alleged that the move to adjourn the House is aimed at skirting opposition criticism over deposits of Lord Jagannath in the cash-starved Yes Bank. Congress legislature party leader Narasingha Mishra, however, welcomed the move to adjourn the House, saying it was the right step.

Slamming the BJP for criticising the government's move, Mishra said that the saffron party is trying to derive political mileage out of the issue. Congress members S S Saluja and T P Bahinipati accused the BJP of adopting a double standard and said the saffron party's criticism in the state is not in conformity with the central government's guidelines on coronavirus. BJD members Pradip Maharathy, D P Mishra and Bhupinder Singh said the step taken by the chief minister to deal with the threat of coronavirus is in the right direction and it will be followed by other states in the country as a model.