Bhubaneswar: Congress MLAs on Thursday demonstrated inside the assembly ‘over the short supply of LPG cylinders’, forcing Speaker Surama Padhy to adjourn the House twice.Trouble began soon after the House reconvened for Question Hour. Congress legislators trooped into the well, alleging that people across the state were facing severe inconvenience due to a purported “shortage of cooking gas”. They demanded that the govt make a clear statement assuring uninterrupted supply.
The Speaker repeatedly asked the agitating members to return to their seats. With the ruckus continuing, she first adjourned the House till 11:30am and later till 4pm.Congress legislature party leader Rama Chandra Kadam said the govt must be transparent and clarify the situation immediately.Responding to the protest, BJP MLA Irasis Acharya said, “Congress appeared to be acting upon directions from Delhi to disrupt proceedings instead of participating in discussions. Disrupting Question Hour and Zero Hour by Congress and BJD members supporting it is deplorable. The Prime Minister has already clarified there is no need to panic over LPG. Their leader Rahul Gandhi is doing in Lok Sabha exactly what their MLAs are doing here.”BJD MLA Sarada Prasanna Jena, however, criticised the govt, saying it was “completely cut off from people’s problems”. “There is already an acute shortage of LPG in many areas and the govt has done nothing. Black marketing has also picked up,” he said.
