The Odisha Assembly on Saturday witnessed a noisy scene after Congress and BJP legislators got involved in a war of words over the Enforcement Directorate's fresh summon to Sonia Gandhi for questioning in connection with its probe into a money laundering case.
During the Zero Hour, BJP's deputy leader in the House B C Sethi pointed out the central agency's raid on a West Bengal minister's residence in connection with an alleged school jobs scam.
As soon as he referred to the ED's notice to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, party MLA Taraprasad Bahinipati accused the BJP of using the Central Bureau of Investigation and the ED against political opponents.
Bahinipati alleged that those who have pointed out the Centre's failures are getting notices from the central agencies as attempts have been made by the BJP-led central government to suppress the opposition voice.
BJP legislator Mohan Maji, who is also the opposition chief whip in the Odisha assembly, rubbished the Congress allegation, claiming that summons and notices are served by the agencies only after getting substantial evidence against the accused, including certain political leaders in some cases.
A heated argument ensued between the two camps in the assembly, following which the Congress members trooped into the well of the House and raised slogans against the Centre over the central agencies' actions.
Unable to run the House smoothly, Speaker BK Arukha adjourned the House twice for brief periods and later till 4 pm. The Enforcement Directorate summoned Gandhi for a second round of questioning in a money laundering case related to the National Herald newspaper on July 25. The Congress leader, who is recovering from Covid, was questioned for about two hours on Thursday.
(With PTI inputs)
