KalingaTimes Correspondent
New Delhi: The MPs belonging to the Biju Janata Dal along with the Bharatiya Janata Party MPs from Orissa staged a walkout in Parliament on Tuesday after they got a negative reply to their demand for the setting up of an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in the State.

The MPs belonging to the partner parties of the National Democratic Front also joined the BJD and BJP MPs from Orissa in the walkout supporting their demand.

The MPs were sore over the reply of Minister of State for Human Resource Development D Purandeshwari ruled the setting up of an IIT in Orissa as the Centre had already approved three such institutes in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan.

The Minister was replying to a calling attention motion moved by the Orissa MPs on their demand for an IIT in the State.

The issue was raised BJD MP from Puri B.K. Tripathy. The others who participated in the discussion were Bhartruhari Mahatab, Prasanna Acharya, Prasanna Patsani, Brahmananda Panda and Baijayanta Panda of the BJD and Kharavela Swain, Dharmendra Pradhan, Jual Oram and B.K. Deo of the BJP.

Oram said that no MP belonging to the Congress, JMM, MPs and Minister were present in the Lok Sabha when the demand for an IIT in the State was raised in the House.

Meanwhile, in their efforts to further highlight the issue all the MPs belonging to the BJD and the BJP MPs from Orissa will stage a protest dharna near the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the premises of Parliament on Wednesday.

BJD MP Baijajayanta Panda has requested all MP from the State, irrespective of party affiliation, to be united to demand for an IIT in Orissa.

It was unfortunate that Orissa's long standing demand for Central institutes like IIT and IIM is not being heard by the Central Government, Panda said.