Odisha Assembly pays tribute to departed leaders

The monsoon session of Odisha Assembly began Tuesday with obituary references to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Lok Sabha ex-speaker Somnath Chatterjee and former Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi.

The members also paid tribute to deceased Odisha minister Jadunath Das Mohapatra, MLAs Suryamani Jena, Muralidhar Kuanr and Braja Kishore Mohanty and martyred head constable Sanjay Majhi during the 30-minute session.

As a mark of respect to the departed leaders, Speaker P K Amat adjourned the proceedings till tomorrow.

As soon as the members gathered in the Assembly, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik moved a condolence motion, which was supported by the Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra and BJP legislature party leader KV Singhdeo.

Stating that Vajpayee's demise was a "great national loss as well as a personal loss" for him, Patnaik said: "I will always cherish my association with the late Prime Minister, especially during the initial years of my life."
"Despite differences in political ideology, I was profoundly impressed by his personality and behaviour. He believed in democracy and did not spare anybody who did not observe the 'Raj Dharma'."