Bhubaneswar:
The Winter Session of Orissa Assembly may have been adjourned sine die, but for the Opposition the House is still on. Congress and BJP MLAs refused to vacate the House after the session was cut short, 14 days before schedule.
Soon after, the Opposition created ruckus alleging Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's involvement in the Rs 50,000 crore mining scam.
"It's mines flu like you've the swine flu. They not only looted the mines but also looted the time of the House. We will pass a resolution; let there be a CBI inquiry," said Leader of the Opposition from Congress, Bhupinder Singh.
On Monday, the Opposition decided to run the House on their own, taking up questions supposed to be discussed. They plan to hold sittings till December 19 - the scheduled date for the end of the Winter Session. The chief minister is calling it a gimmick.
"I don't see any point of such an exercise. Obviously all this is meant for publicity," Patnaik said.
Although the state legislature is supposed to sit for at least 60 days a year, it has not happenned in the last 10 years. But this time the manner in which the session was cut short is fuelling allegations that the government is trying to ward off further embarrassment on the mining scam.