Bhubaneswar: Odisha Assembly Speaker Surama Padhy has rejected a notice submitted by the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) for a no-confidence motion against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state.

The CLP had submitted the notice for a no-confidence motion against the BJP government on the first day of the Monsoon Session of the Odisha Assembly on September 18.

The CLP had filed the notice for a no-confidence motion by citing the alleged failure of the BJP government in addressing the issues of crime against women, farm sector crisis, unemployment and exploitation of Dalits and Adivasi (tribal) people in the state.

The Congress party had urged the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the main opposition party in Odisha, to support its no-confidence motion against the BJP government.  

“The CLP leader along with 14 MLAs had submitted a notice to the Odisha Assembly secretary on September 18 for a no-confidence motion against the government. I had asked them to table the notice in the House the next day (September 19). However, the notice could not be moved in the Assembly due to continuous disruptions of the proceedings,” said the Speaker while rejecting the no-trust motion notice.  

Expressing displeasure over the rejection of no-confidence motion notice, the Congress MLAs held a demonstration near the Speaker’s podium.

They later staged a walkout and held a dharna near the Gandhi statue to protest the Speaker’s decision.

It is worth mentioning here that Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das had earlier appealed to the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) to bring a no-confidence motion against the BJP government in the Monsoon Session of the Assembly.

“Being the main Opposition party in Odisha, the BJD should bring the non-confidence motion. Otherwise, we will move the motion and they should support us in this regard,” Das had said.

Notably, the Congress party has 14 members in the Odisha Assembly against the total strength of 147 while the party has the backing of the lone CPI (M) MLA. The ruling BJP has 78 legislators and it has the support of a few independent legislators. The Naveen Patnaik-led BJD has 50 MLAs in the House.