Odisha: Two BJP MLAs were suspended from the Odisha assembly till the end of the session after they allegedly threw pulses (daal) at Speaker Pramila Mallik's podium on Thursday. Opposition chief whip Mohan Majhi was one of the two MLAs who have been suspended.
Speaking on the matter, BJP MLA Mohan Charan Majhi said, "The case of throwing pulses on the Speaker by me is a lie... I have not thrown any pulses at the Speaker, nor have I gifted her... The Speaker should see the visuals first... I would demand that you should not have suspended me for something I have not done..."
Another BJP MLA Mukesh Mahaling said, "Today in the Odisha assembly, the Speaker has suspended me in an undemocratic way... they suspended me when I, along with my fellow MLAs, were protesting against her for cutting off the line and podium speaker of the Leader of Opposition... The Speaker has not allowed him to speak; that's why we were protesting... During the protest, we gave pulses to the Speaker as a gift... The present Speaker was Minister earlier, and she was involved in a pulses corruption case... That's why we were giving her pulses... She did not accept it and suspended me."
On denial of the charge by Majhi, the Speaker said, "I do not know what he says. They have been suspended till the end of the ongoing session." The session is scheduled to end on October 4.
Senior Biju Janata Dal leader Pramila Mallik was on September 22 elected unopposed as the Speaker of the Assembly, becoming the first woman in the state to occupy the post.
With inputs from PTI
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