BHUBANESWAR: The monsoon session of the Assembly scheduled from September 1, will have six working days a week and meet on Saturday also.
After an all party meeting on Friday, Speaker Surjya Narayan Patro said that on Saturday the House will meet from 11 am to 1.30 pm and 4 pm to 6 pm. On other weekdays, the House will meet from 10.30 am to 1.30 pm and 4 pm to 6 pm, he added.
The session will have eight business days and continue till September 9. The Speaker said that starred questions will be taken up during the House proceedings. Adjournment motions will be allowed during the session,” he added.
He said that members not willing to physically participate in the question hour can do so from the conference hall of the Odisha Computer Application Centre (OCAC), Lok Seva Bhawan or at the office of the district collectors in their home constituencies.
He added that Leader of the Opposition Pradipta Nayak, who is undergoing treatment at the AIIMS-Bhubaneswar, can also participate in the question hour through video conferencing. The Speaker further said that all ministers and MLAs will undergo RT-PCR and antibody tests. Both the tests will be conducted the same day, he added.
The Opposition BJP and Congress have decided to target the government during the session over several issues. Deputy leader of the Opposition Bishnu Sethi said that the BJP will raise the drought situation, measures taken by the State government to tackle the possible third wave of COVID-19 and the rising incidents of drug trafficking in the State.
Leader of the Congress Legislature Party Narasingha Mishra said that his party will take up issues of drought, hike in the prices of essential commodities, unemployment, healthcare services and education during the session.