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Giridhar Gopal in Bhubaneswar
Manas Ranjan Mallik, an independent member of the Orissa legislative assembly, sustained injuries on his head after pandemonium broke in the assembly on Wednesday.
Soon after the session began, MLAs belonging to opposition parties, including Mallik, were up on their feet to protest the central government's move to privatise NALCO.
It took a violent turn when Mallik and Taraprasad Bahinipati, another opposition MLA, stood on their chairs and started shouting slogans against Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. They alleged Patnaik was following 'double standards' on NALCO's privatisation.
Some ruling Biju Janata Dal members, including state Energy Minister Surya Narayan Patra, tried to bring them under control. But that resulted in an unruly situation in the house in which Mallik sustained injuries on his head.
Mallik told rediff.com: "The chief minister and his supporters are after my life. My life is under threat."
But BJD chief whip Pradeep Moharathy said, "He fell down from the char and it is just an accident."
Mallik has been shifted to SCB medical college hospital at Cuttack.
Interestingly, Mallik is a close associate of former Union minister and expelled BJD leader Dilip Ray, who is at loggerheads with Patnaik.
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