The Odisha Assembly on Friday witnessed pandemonium over the ongoing multipurpose Polavaram project in Andhra Pradesh and as the ruckus continued, Speaker Surama Padhy adjourned the House.

As soon as the House assembled for the day, the Congress members trooped into the well of the House, protesting against the rejection of the adjournment motion submitted by them. Soon, the BJD members joined the chorus, demanding a full-fledged discussion on the issue. The BJD targeted the government, stating that the regional outfit wouldn’t compromise with the interests of the state.

The Speaker rejected the discussion on the ground that the Polavaram issue is subjudice and can not be discussed on the floor of the House. However, the Opposition members were not in the mood to subscribe to the Speaker’s views and continued demanding a thorough discussion on this contentious issue as the project would harm the state’s interests and submerge a number of villages in the border areas.

The Polavaram project, considered the lifeline of Andhra Pradesh on the Godavari river, is likely to submerge a number of villages in Malkangiri district. Not only Odisha but also Chhattisgarh is protesting against the project.

Leader of the Opposition and former chief minister Naveen Patnaik said: “The party has always been fighting for the interests of the people of the state and will continue to do so.”

Congress MLA Rama Chandra Kadam maintained that the project would submerge many areas in Odisha’s Malkangiri district bordering Andhra Pradesh. “The state’s interests are being hampered but the state is sitting idle. The central government is even providing financial assistance for the completion of the project,” Kadam said.

Defending the government, law minister Prithiviraj Harichandan accused the former BJD government of failing to keep the state’s interests intact and said that history won’t forgive the previous government for its misdeeds.