Odisha Assembly's Winter Session adjourned sine die

The Winter Session of the Odisha Assembly was adjourned sine die by the Speaker on Friday, 29 days before it was scheduled to end on December 31.

Odisha Assembly's Winter Session adjourned sine die
Source: IANS

Bhubaneswar, Dec 2 (IANS) The Winter Session of the Odisha Assembly was adjourned sine die by the Speaker on Friday, 29 days before it was scheduled to end on December 31.

Speaker Bikram Keshari Arukha announced sine die adjournment of the House, in the absence of opposition BJP and Congress members, after passing the Appropriation Bill for first supplementary budget of Rs 16,800 crore for the year 2022-23.

The Appropriation Bill was also passed in the absence of the opposition members.

Soon after that, government chief whip Prasant Muduli moved a motion proposing sine-die adjournment of the session as no legislative business was left to discuss in the House.

Out of 33 business days of the Winter Session that started on November 24, the House was assembled for only eight working days.

However, the session witnessed ruckus over several issues including the teachers' protest, woman blackmailer Archana Nag case and farmers' issues.

Three bills were passed and three CAG reports laid in the Assembly during the session.

As soon as the House assembled for the day at 10.30 a.m., the BJP members carrying banners stormed into the well of the house and raised slogans against the government over various demands of farmers.

As a noisy scene prevailed in the House, the Speaker adjourned the proceedings till 11.30 a.m.

When the House reassembled, the BJP members continued their protest and later staged a noisy walk out from the Assembly on the farmers' issues.

The BJP member later sat on a dharna before the Mahatma Gandhi statue in the Assembly premises.

"The Chief Minister along with many ministers have remained absent in the Assembly as they are busy campaigning for the Padampur by-poll. No one here listens to the problems of farmers," said BJP chief whip Mohan Majhi.

Congress legislature party leader Narasingha Mishra targeted both state and central governments for not looking at the plight of farmers.

On the other hand, BJD MLA Amar Satpathy said: "The objective is not the farmer issue. They are using the House to fulfil their political motives as the by-election is ahead."

Meanwhile, the BJP has organised a massive protest rally of the farmers to 'gherao' the state Assembly on four points of demands which included release of input assistance, insurance money under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and black-marketing of fertilizers.