Congress alleges Odisha Speaker partisan

"We have apprised the Governor about how four important

bills were passed within 10 minutes in the assembly without any discussion," Leader of the opposition Bhupinder Singh told reporters after meeting the governor.

Stating that the important Odisha Maritime Board Bill, 2011 was passed without any discussion, Singh said the business advisory committee of the House had earlier earmarked 10 hours of discussion on the subject.

"However, the speaker allowed passing of the Bill on December 12 without any discussion," Singh said.

"We are not being allowed time to speak on important issues. This is a wrong precedent being set by the speaker," he alleged.

Echoing him, BJP supported Independent MLA Pratap Sarangi saying, "It is absolutely wrong to pass bills without discussion."

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kalpataru Das, rejecting the allegation said, "We are ready to discuss any issue. But they should remain present in the House when Bills are brought

for discussion. The Speaker cannot help if they walk out of the House during that time."