Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Assembly was adjourned till 4 pm Thursday as Opposition BJD and Congress members created a ruckus demanding immediate repeal of the MMDR Amendment Act, which was passed in the Parliament last month.
The pandemonium started as soon as the House assembled for Question Hour at 10.30 am. The agitating Opposition MLAs were already in the well of the House before Deputy Speaker Bhabani Shankar Bhoi took his seat.
As Bhoi allowed Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mukesh Mahaling to reply to a question, the Opposition members raised slogans, creating a noisy scene. While some members were seen standing on the reporters’ table, a section of agitating lawmakers were shouting below the Speaker’s podium.
While BJD members exhibited banners written in the background of green colour, the Congress MLAs were wearing black scarf to oppose the Mines and Mineral (Development & Regulation) Amendment Act, 2026.
Deputy Speaker Bhoi, however, allowed three questions to be replied by ministers amid the din, even as the Opposition members were shouting at the top of their voice. Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari drew the attention of the chair, saying that he was unable to see the Deputy Speaker as the Opposition members were standing on the reporters’ table in the middle of the well.
As Bhoi’s request to protesting members failed to yield any result, he announced adjournment of the proceedings till 4 pm. Both the BJD and Congress have been demanding immediate withdrawal of the new mining law and termed it as anti-Odisha and anti-tribal. They alleged that the federal system has been severely affected by the enactment of the MMDR Amendment Act, 2026.
As the House was adjourned, the BJD MLAs marched to the nearby building which houses the headquarters of the Odisha Mining Corporation and staged a ‘dharna’ before it.
We came to the OMC office here as it has no more relevance after the passage of the MMDR Amendment Bill- 2026. The Centre has snatched the state’s rights over the mineral-bearing land of Odisha through this legislation. BJD will not tolerate this injustice, BJD member Goutam Buddha Das told reporters.
Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Rama Chandra Kadam said that his party has been opposing this mining law both outside and inside the Assembly. He said the party has planned to call for an Odisha Bandh over the issue.
