Bhubaneswar, Nov 28: The inaugural day of the winter session of state Assembly witnessed pandemonium over farmers’ issues following which the House was adjourned for the day.
Soon after the House assembled for the winter session at 11 am, unruly members of both the ruling BJP and opposition parties created obstructions in the proceedings of the House over issues related to farmers in the state resulting in several suspensions before the Speaker Pradip Amat adjourned the House.
Initially, the Speaker adjourned the House for an hour amid ruckus over the issue. Further chaos prevailed when the House reassembled later forcing Amat to adjourn the House for 30 minutes and later till Wednesday 10.30 am.
The inaugural day of the winter session started with obituary references on the passing away of former Minister of State Muralidhar Guru and former MLA Samaya Kisku. Due condolences were accorded to both of them by the House and one-minute silence was observed as a mark of respect to the departed leaders.
As soon as the Speaker announced the commencement of the House business, the members of ruling BJD and Opposition Congress and BJP started raising slogans targeting each other.
Mimicking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and holding paddy straw, Congress members demanded suspension of the question hour and a debate on crop loss and other farmers’ issues through a motion.
Countering their Congress counterpart, BJP members too rushed to the well of the House holding damaged paddy straw and raised slogans against the state government for its alleged inability to protect the interest of farmers, who have been suffering due to drought, pest attacks and unseasonal rain.
Not to take things granted, ruling BJD members also created ruckus demanding a hike in minimum support price (MSP) of paddy and raised slogans against the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre. They also raised anti-Centre slogans and disrupted the House proceedings.
Later, the ruling party members sat on a dharna before the statue of Mahatma Gandhi on the Assembly premises displaying banners and demanding a hike in paddy MSP by the Centre at par with the unanimous resolution passed by the Assembly in the last monsoon session.
“The Prime Minister did not give time to the House Committee formed for considering a hike in paddy MSP. We are protesting against the Centre’s attitude towards farmers in Orissa,” BJD chief whip Amar Prasad Satpathy said outside the House.
BJD MLA Arun Sahoo said, Narendra Modi government has betrayed the farmers’ community across the country. “In its election manifesto, BJP had promised to double the MSP for paddy, but after coming into power the Modi government the procurement of paddy by a mere Rs 80 per quintal, which is unfortunate. We are demanding a hike in MSP for paddy to Rs 2,930 per quintal,” Sahoo added.
On the other hand, BJP MLA Pradip Purohit said the farmers have suffered a lot due to drought, crop loss and unexpected rain during the kharif season. “We demand identification of affected sharecroppers, like the deceased Brunda Sahu, and proper assessment of crop loss by the state government,” Purohit said.
Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra said a motion has been moved by his party to suspend the question hour and hold discussion over the issues of farmers.
“Unfortunately, the Speaker did not permit me to say anything in the House and adjourned it. The Speaker should convene an all-party meeting and discuss possible ways to help farmers and stop farmer suicide,” Mishra said.
Notably, the winter session of Assembly started Tuesday and will continue till December 30. (Post News Network)