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Bhubaneswar, August 22: After the Mahanadi dispute, the opposition Congress and BJP have locked horns with the ruling BJD over the monsoon session’s timing.
Both Congress and BJP have demanded that the Orissa Assembly monsoon session should not commence September 7 in view of the famous Western Orissa festival Nuakhai which falls September 6.
Some BJD MLAs from Western Orissa are also supporting the proposal. Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Assembly Narasingha Mishra (Congress) played the Western Orissa card, which was supported by the BJP.
“#Nuakhai is on 6th and assembly session called on 7th September. Why this apathy to members of #WesternOdisha,” Mishra tweeted. The monsoon session is from September 7 to September 21 with 10 working days.
However, opposing the move Mishra, who represents Bolangir, accused the BJD-ruled government of ignoring Western Orissa’s tradition and culture.
Opposition members, especially, from Western Orissa have stated that as Nuakhai is on September 6, it will be difficult for them to attend the legislature party meetings usually held a day before the session starts. Besides, it will also be difficult for them to attend the first day of the session.
BJP state unit president Basant Panda, too, demanded that monsoon session’s commencement should be postponed at least by a day making it convenient for western Orissa MLAs.
Stating that Speaker Niranjan Pujari also belongs to the region, he appealed to him to consider the proposal.
BJD leaders from Western Orissa such as Raseswari Panigrahi from Sambalpur and Susanta Singh from Bhatli have also stated that it will be inconvenient for them to attend the session. Both the MLAs said they have asked BJD chief whip Ananta Das to raise this issue.
However, Das denied having received any such proposal from his colleagues and said that the session will commence September 7.
BJD leader Prafulla Samal added that the party and government are always dedicated towards the culture and tradition of the state and the opposition shouldn’t politicise the issue.