The proceedings of the monsoon session of the Odisha assembly on the second day, on Friday, washed out amid opposition BJD’s protest over the fertiliser crisis during the ongoing kharif season in the state.
The BJD members disrupted the proceedings repeatedly and created a ruckus in the House, demanding a detailed discussion on the alleged scarcity of fertiliser and farmers’ agitation across the state.
Unable to run the House, Speaker Surama Padhy adjourned the proceedings twice during the day. The House could hardly transact business for only eight minutes in two phases. The House could hardly transact business for only eight minutes in two phases.
As session started in the morning, BJD MLAs, holding placards marched into the well of the House even before the Speaker took her seat and shouted slogans against the BJP government. They labelled the ruling party as “anti-farmer.”
Despite the Speaker’s repeated requests to the protesting members to return to their seats, the disruption continued. The Speaker, therefore, adjourned the proceedings until 4 pm. The morning session lasted only four minutes amidst the chaos
Though Padhy allowed School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond to reply to a question from BJP member Tankadhar Tripathy, his response was lost amid the noisy scenes.
The BJD’s protest followed an admission by Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister K C Patra that black marketing of fertilizers was widespread in the state.
When the House reconvened at 4 pm, BJD members again demanded a comprehensive discussion on the fertilizer crisis. The post-lunch session was also brief, lasting only about four minutes before the Speaker adjourned the House until 10.30 am on Saturday.
Outside the House, opposition chief whip Pramila Mallik justified the protest, stating they were forced to act because the government had “ignored the plight of farmers” who are demonstrating on the streets.
She alleged that the government has “failed to meet the farmers’ demand” and that there is “rampant black marketing of fertilisers.”
Mallik added that while the Speaker had accepted a notice for a debate, they demanded a full-fledged discussion after suspending all other business. She argued that a 15-20 minute debate was not sufficient when farmers constitute over 60 percent of the state’s population.
BJP MLA Agasti Behera, however, alleged that the Opposition BJD disrupted the proceedings to “defame the government”.
“When the Speaker accepted the Congress’ notice for a discussion on the issue after Question Hour, there was no point in creating a ruckus. Such practices are adopted to get publicity,” the BJP legislator claimed.
Congress MLA Ashok Das expressed his surprise at the BJD’s actions, suggesting they could have used an adjournment motion to discuss the matter. He alleged, “Instead of joining the debate, the BJD ensured that the House was adjourned. We suspect that the BJD held the protest to protect the BJP government.”
Meanwhile, BJP member Padmalochan Panda threatened to file a privilege motion against six Congress MLAs, including CLP leader Rama Chandra Kadam, for speaking to the media about their no-confidence motion notice on Thursday.
“As per the rules of the business of the Odisha Legislative Assembly, any member cannot reveal in public about a notice on the no-confidence motion. Six Congress MLAs violated the rules and told reporters about the notice as soon as they submitted a copy of it to the Speaker,” Panda claimed.
Ashok Das refuted Panda’s claim, stating that they had informed the media about the “no-confidence” notice in writing only after notifying the assembly’s secretary. “We have not done anything which violates the rules of the House,” the Congress MLA added.
