The Odisha Congress on the first day of the Monsoon Session of the State Assembly, on Thursday18 September 18, formally moved a no-confidence motion against the 15-month-old BJP-led government in the state.
A delegation of Congress MLAs led by legislature party leader Rama Chandra Kadam met Assembly Secretary Satyabrata Rout in his chamber and submitted a letter to the Speaker Suraa Padhy through the letter seeking a ‘no-confidence motion’ against the state government.
Invoking Rule 117(1) of the Assembly procedures, the Congress Legislature Party, in the notice, said, “That this House expresses no confidence in the present Council of Ministers led by Shri Mohan Charan Majhi.”
“We have submitted a notice to the Assembly secretary addressed to the Speaker and urged her to accept it for moving a no-confidence motion. We have the signature of 14 Congress MLAs and one member of the CPI(M),” Kadam told reporters, as quoted by news agency PTI.
Kadam stated that Congress party had earlier urged the principal Opposition party, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), to move a no-confidence motion against the BJP government. “As the BJD did not make any such move in this regard, we have submitted the notice for a no-confidence motion and request the regional party to support the Congress move,” Kadam added.
“We have no hesitation to support the BJD if it separately brings a no-confidence motion against the BJP government,” he further said.
Speaking to media, senior Congress leader Taraprasad Bahinipati said, “We have submitted a letter with the signatures of 15 MLAs — 14 Congress MLAs and one from the Communist Party of India-Marxist — to the Speaker through the Assembly Secretary to bring in a no-confidence motion against the Odisha government. We have submitted the letter for the no-confidence motion under the leadership of our Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader, Rama Chandra Kadam. We demand that the state government accept our motion and ensure that a discussion is held on it in the House.”
Today, 14 Congress MLAs have moved a no confidence motion against CM Mohan Charan Majhi led Odisha Govt.
Odisha’s BJP Govt has completely failed to ensure the safety of women, maintain law & order, providing relief to farmers and safeguard the interests of SC-STs and OBCs. pic.twitter.com/3wISxUA48i
— Bhakta Charan Das (@BhaktaCharanDas) September 18, 2025
Meanwhile, the Congress CLP leader informed that the party will hold discussions with BJD, seeking their support for the no-confidence motion.
Later, a Congress delegation went to meet the Leader of Opposition, Naveen Patnaik, in the latter’s chamber in the assembly premises. However, they could not meet the BJD president as he was absent. They, however, discussed the matter with two BJD MLAs present in the chamber of the Leader of Opposition.
The BJD chief whip Pramila Mallik, however, said that Congress has not discussed the issue of no-confidence with the party.
“They (Congress) have not yet approached us. Let them do what they are doing, the BJD will take its own decision,” Mallik said, adding Patnaik will take a stand on the issue after discussion.
Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Jay Narayan Mishra ridiculed the Congress’s move stating that the no-confidence motion will have no effect on the state government.
On Wednesday, the Congress announced to bring a no-confidence motion against the BJP-led state government, claiming that the latter has not lived up to the people’s expectations and failed to address various issues like violence against women, farmer woes, corruption in the education sector, etc.
