Needed: Mouth Curfew

It is not often that speakers of assemblies make pronouncements on affairs of state governments. Thus, it was only natural that eyebrows were raised when speaker Surya Narayan Patro, during an interaction with the media last Sunday, jumped the gun and said the government was considering re-imposition of 바카라�day curfew바카라� in the state 바카라�in the 4-5 days바카라� because of the upsurge in Covid cases. As if that was not enough, he also said chief minister Naveen Patnaik was discussing with senior health officials.

Predictably, all hell broke loose after the speaker바카라�s remarks. Coming as it did from no less than the Speaker, speculation about the possible return of day curfew, lockdown/shutdown et al continued all day. The decision to impose night curfew in 10 western and southern districts bordering Chhattisgarh from Monday, announced by the state government, lent credence to the speaker바카라�s statement. In any case, the rapid rise in coronavirus infections in Odisha since March 25 made it sound plausible.

Just as speculation swirled, special relief commissioner Pradip Jena tweeted that there was 바카라�no plan for imposing day curfew in the state before the government at this stage바카라�. 바카라�The COVID-19 situation in the state is very much under control,바카라� he asserted and urged people to follow Covid protocols바카라�masks, physical distancing and hand hygiene.

Jena put an end to speculation바카라�and apprehension바카라�but also triggered an animated discussion in knowledgeable circles on whether this was not a slight for the speaker. 바카라�Why did the speaker speak on an issue which is by no means his domain?바카라� asks an old-timer. 바카라�Perhaps he thought he was still a minister in the government!바카라� quips a wag. Patro is among the longest-serving ministers in the Naveen Patnaik government and became speaker바카라�a constitutional functionary바카라� after the 2019 polls. Already under fire for 바카라�partisan conduct바카라� by the BJP for expelling three members of the party on the last day of the assembly on April 3, this was one controversy Patro could have done without.

By Sandeep Sahu in Bhubaneswar