BHUBANESWAR: Assembly speaker
Surya Narayan Patro
on Friday expressed shock over
Union
law minister Kiren Rijiju’
s statement
in the Rajya Sabha that the Centre did not receive any resolution from the state on the formation of a legislative council.
“After the state assembly passed a resolution regarding formation of a legislative council, a copy of the resolution was sent to the secretary generals of both the Houses of Parliament and Union secretaries of law and parliamentary affairs on September 18, 2018,” Patro told reporters here. Patro said efforts to set up an upper House in the state were started in 2015.
In a written reply to a question from BJD’s Prasanna Acharya on Thursday, Rijiju had said that no resolution has been received by the Centre regarding formation of a legislative council in Odisha. He also replied that information is being collected from the state government on adoption of the resolution.
The Union minister’s statement has astonished all in the state, including the government, assembly secretariat and the public.
Acharya said that the BJD would seek a clarification from the Union government in this regard. “I can’t understand why the Union minister made such a statement. The speaker of the state assembly has clarified the date on which the resolution was sent,” said Acharya.
The opposition BJP and Congress in the state gave mixed responses to the Union minister’s reply.
Senior Congress leader
Taraprasad Bahinipati
said if Rijiju’s reply regarding the resolution for a legislative council in the state is not based on fact, he would move a breach of privilege notice against him in the assembly. Bahinipati also demanded that BJD MPs should immediately seek a clarification in this regard. BJP leader Golak Mohapatra said there should not be any hurry for formation of a legislative council in the state as the assembly is not functioning properly.
Mohapatra said if the state government has sent a resolution, the Centre would give a reply in appropriate time.
The state government had constituted an all-party delegation in 2015 that visited states having legislative councils to examine its functioning and submitted a report.
Following an approval from the state government, the assembly had passed a resolution in this regard on September 6, 2018.
Sources said the Centre will have to give response on the resolution’s location if an RTI activist files an application on the issue.
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