Bhubaneswar: Naba Nirman Krushak Sangathan (NNKS), a farmers’ rights organisation, has called for a statewide Odisha bandh September 30, demanding accountability over the errors in government-issued school textbooks and the resignation of School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond.
Separately, the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) has announced a statewide bandh October 8 to protest the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2026, and demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Gond.
OPCC president Bhakta Charan Das appealed to INDIA bloc parties to join the bandh and extend support to the protest.
The Congress has also announced a seven-day economic blockade and reiterated its demand for Gond’s resignation.
Meanwhile, Board of Secondary Education (BSE), Odisha, clarified that examinations will be held as scheduled despite the NNKS-called bandh September 30, dismissing social media reports of cancellations as baseless. BSE President Srikanta Tarai said no changes have been made to the existing examination timetable.
PNN
