The third all-party meeting held in the Orissa Legislative Assembly on Friday failed to resolve the ongoing impasse in the House as both the ruling BJD and Opposition Congress stuck to their earlier stands.
The Opposition insisted for removal of the state mass education minister Pratap Jena and urban development minister Badrinaryan Patra alleging that the two were involved in a multi-crore coal scam. The CM dismissed the Opposition demand saying that no action could be taken against them unless the ongoing vigilance probe into the scam was over.
As it seems now, the Appropriation Bill — scheduled to be presented on Saturday — will be passed without the presence of the Opposition. With 103 MLAs, the ruling BJD enjoys the brute majority in the 147-member Assembly.
“It seems chief minister Naveen Patnaik does not have regards for the sentiment of the Opposition,” senior Congress leader Santosh Singh Saluja told this newspaper.