BJD sprinkles 'Ganga Jal' in Odisha assembly after police entry

Legislators of the opposition Biju Janata Dal on Thursday sprinkled 'Ganga Jal' in the Odisha Assembly before attending the proceedings, alleging that the House had been 'spiritually polluted' by the entry of policemen.

Police had on Tuesday night entered the Well to evict Congress members who were staging a protest demanding a House Committee to probe crimes against women committed after the BJP came to power in the state last year.

Led by opposition chief whip Pramila Mallik, the BJD lawmakers were seen sprinkling 'Ganga Jal' from earthen pots with mango leaves in every nook and corner of the House.

"We sprinkled 'Ganga Jal' to purify the assembly. It has been polluted as the Speaker allowed the police to enter the Well of the House," BJD member and former minister Arun Kumar Sahoo said.

Speaker Surama Padhy denounced the act, saying, "This is not acceptable. The members should stop doing this."

Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said, "There is no need to purify this august House as it has always been pure and sacred."

The BJD members alleged that the Speaker had allowed the police to enter the Well of the House on Tuesday night and the law enforcers used force to evict the protesting Congress MLAs.

"The police had never entered the assembly before. They forcibly evicted the Congress MLAs. We also witnessed a scuffle between police and MLAs at the gates of the assembly. This incident has brought a shame to Odisha," Sahoo said, adding that the Congress legislators were left in the streets in the middle of the night.

The opposition members also alleged that the police had prevented them from going outside the assembly premises on Wednesday.

"The police closed the main gate and prevented BJD MLAs from going outside. This is condemnable," Mallik said.

According to assembly records, the Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress members had in December 2021 also sprinkled 'Ganga Jal' and cow dung water in the House to purify it, as a mark of protest against the murder of a woman teacher in Kalahandi district.