BHUBANESWAR: With the winter session of the Assembly beginning Tuesday expected to be a stormy one, speaker Pramila Mallik has convened an all-party meeting where she is likely to urge Opposition members to allow the House to function smoothly so that issues of vital importance concerning the state can be discussed.
The all-party meeting is slated on Monday. Most of the last two sessions of the Assembly were washed out due to Opposition protest on several matters. As elections are scheduled early next year, Opposition BJP and Congress are preparing to corner the government on a range of issues. However, most of the issues are old and no fresh incident has occurred during the last one-and-a-half month to give the Opposition a fresh opportunity to target the government.
Besides law and order and corruption, the Opposition will raise the issue of tribal land transfer to non-tribals during the session. Though the cabinet had approved amendment of Regulation 2 of 1956 to allow transfer of tribal land to non-tribals, it was put on hold due to Opposition backlash.
Opposition chief whip Mohan Majhi said BJP will focus on the state government’s failure in the agriculture sector which has led to alleged suicide by farmers. Alleging that the government is one of the most corrupt ever formed in the state, Majhi said the issue will also be raised by BJP.
This apart, deterioration of law and order situation in the state including the state capital will be raised. The manner in which the government suppressed the incident in which the brother of a ruling party MLA was present when an accident took place will be a major issue. Majhi said the details will be discussed at the meeting of BJP Legislature Party scheduled on Monday.
Leader of Congress Legislature Party Narasingha Mishra said that regional imbalance in the state and its backwardness in health and education will be the focus of his party. The alleged involvement of the brother of a ruling party MLA in an accident which claimed two lives and the government’s bid to protect him, growing unemployment, migration and government neglect of farm sector will be the other issues. He said issues to be taken up by his party will be finalised after discussions at the CLP meeting scheduled on Monday.