Uphold dignity of House, Rijiju urges MLAs

Bhubaneswar: Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday advised the new MLAs to maintain discipline, work hard and uphold the dignity of the House.

Inaugurating the two-day orientation programme for newly elected members to the Odisha Legislative Assembly, Rijiju said, “making ‘hungama’ (noise) in the House may give you a headline the next day, but it has no positive impact in the long-run.”

The Opposition BJD and the Congress, however, boycotted the programme over “breach of protocol” claims. Of the 147 members in the Odisha Assembly, 84 MLAs are first-timers.

“I am here not to teach the new MLAs, but to share my experience as a member of Parliament. I am happy to see that there is convergence of both young and experienced members. It is a good sign for democracy,” Rijiju said.

Meanwhile, BJD deputy chief whip Pratap Keshari Deb said his party would organise a separate training programme for the new MLAs on August 25.