Bhubaneswar : Roles were reversed as the first session of the 17th Odisha assembly got underway here on Monday. Naveen Patnaik, who was chief minister for 24 years, donned the role of leader of opposition as new chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi took the seat meant for the leader of the House.
Naveen played his new role to perfection by raising the controversial issue of a Raj Bhavan staff being assaulted by governor Raghubar Das’s son in Puri. The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the party led by Naveen who spent 24 years of the 27 years he spent in public life as chief minister, was ferocious in its attack on the new government on this issue. It condemned the incident even as law minister Prithviraj Harichandan said that the government had sought a report from the Puri collector.
On the opening day of the assembly, Naveen came to the House silently and sat on the designated chair meant for the Leader of the Opposition. On the other hand, chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi sat on the chair where Naveen used to sit for the last 24 years. On his first day as the Opposition leader led the entire opposition in boycotting the Governor’s address to the state assembly. It accused the government of failing to initiate action against the Governor’s son who is accused of beating a government officer. IT sought to link the issue with “ Odia Asmita”, the election plank of the BJP .
Outside the House, Naveen said, “My party and I were disappointed and surprised to find that the present government has taken no action against the Governor’s son who had meted out violence to a government officer. We are deeply shocked by this. Law and order seems to have broken down in our state. When I was in government, ministers, MLAs, MPs and senior government servants, if they broke the law immediate action was taken. The state government must act according to the law. Because of this, my party marched out of this empty hall at the beginning of this session.”
Governor Raghubar Das’ son has been accused of beating and misbehaving with a staff of the Raj Bhavan at Puri. Though a police complaint has been registered, no action has been taken against the Governor’s son. On the contrary, the victim government officer Baikuntha Pradhan, an assistant section officer, has been shifted from the Governor’s House to the Home department.
Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan said, “Instruction has been issued to Puri Collector to submit a report on the issue within 15 days. Action will be taken on the basis of the report. The state government is completely aware of the incident and law will take its own course. I appeal to the Opposition MLAs to have patience.”
Keen to ensure that Biju Janata Dal (BJD) plays the role of an effective opposition, Naveen Patnaik has assigned specific responsibilities to his MLAs. He has assigned departments to party MLAs to keep a tab on the government. It will act as a shadow cabinet which will closely monitor various department’s functioning and make intervention in assembly discussions.
