Bhubaneswar: The second day of the budget session in the Odisha Assembly here Friday witnessed a huge ruckus by the opposition parties over various issues.
The pandemonium forced Speaker Surama Padhy to adjourn the House twice, first till noon and later again till 4 p.m. As soon as the proceedings of the House began, the members of the opposition Congress and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) stormed into the well of the Assembly shouting slogans against the alleged collapse of the law and order situation in the state and anti-farmer policies of the government.
“We, yesterday, proposed to the Speaker to discuss the death of 14 farmers due to loss of crops during the unseasonal rainfall in the state and the farmer’s protest over Katni Chhatni (non-official deduction of price by rice millers over grain quality assessment) and non-procurement of paddy. However, the Speaker allowed discussions on other issues sidelining our proposal. The government has failed to fulfil the promises made to farmers who are in distress. We will continue our protest till discussions are held on farmer issues,” said BJD chief whip Pramila Mallik.
The opposition congress has also moved an adjournment motion demanding discussions on the issue of Katni Chhatni. The party held protests in the House over the deteriorating law and order situation in the state under the BJP government.
“The double-engine government has failed in fluffing the promises made to the people. We want discussions on issues related to the woes of farmers in the state such as non-procurement of the amount of paddy promised earlier and the problem of Katni Chhatni to be held in the House today but the government didn’t let the House function,” said Congress leader C.S. Raazen Ekka.
“We were ready to present the reply on the motion moved by the opposition BJD and Congress but they engaged in disruptions in the House. BJD and Congress don’t have any agenda. They just want to mislead people creating a false perception,” said BJP MLA Irasis Acharya.
IANS
