BJD, BJP spar after Odisha Speaker bans media from Assembly

Bhubaneshwar: Hours after Odisha Assembly Speaker imposed an embargo on the media inside the House, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Saturday came at loggerheads over the issue. The Naveen Patnaik-led party argued that the Speaker has powers granted to him by the Constitution, while the BJP lambasted him for suppressing "democracy".

While speaking to media after the embargo, BJP's Deputy Chief Whip Bishnu Charan Sethi stressed that the beauty of democracy lies where media



is given liberty. "Where the media is stopped, there is no democracy. We demand Speaker should withdraw the decision," he added.

However, the ruling BJD was of a different opinion on the matter. BJP leader Anant Narayan Das asserted the Speaker has the power to give a ruling as per law and nobody can question it. "Power has been invested by the Constitution. Speaker has the power to pass the order. But it could also have been discussed in the all-party meeting and some solution must have come out," said Das.