BHUBANESWAR: With the Opposition BJP and Congress ready with a number of issues to attack the state government during the Budget session of the Assembly starting on Monday, Speaker Pramila Mallik called upon the members to cooperate in smooth running of the House.
Holding an all-party meeting ahead of the session, the Speaker requested both the ruling and Opposition members to allow discussions to take place on different issues in the House.
As the budget session will be the last before general elections in the state, noisy scenes are expected in the House. However, the ruling BJD is confident of facing the Opposition onslaught during the short session.
The BJD legislature party meeting presided over by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will be held on Monday to discuss strategy of the ruling party. Though it is pre-election time, all party MLAs have been asked to be present in the House when the government will place the vote-on-account for the first three months of the 2024-25 financial year on February 8.
Government chief whip Prashant Kumar Muduli told mediapersons that the state government is prepared to face the Opposition during the session.
He said that the BJD will discuss all issues raised by the BJP and Congress members in the Assembly.
However, Opposition chief whip Mohan Majhi said that the House may not be run beyond four days as it is adjourned before time in every session.
He said that Opposition is ready with a number of issues including the law and order situation, growing unemployment in the state, anti-farmer policies of the state government, widespread corruption at all level and others.
“We have many important issues to raise in the Assembly but I am not sure if the ruling BJD will give us the opportunity. My apprehension stems from the fact that all the last 14 sessions of the Assembly were declared sine die much ahead of schedule as the treasury benches always feel uncomfortable to face the truth,” said Majhi.
Leader of the Congress legislature party Narasingha Mishra said politics based on religion, the Srimandir Parikrama project and the consecration of Ram Lalla idol in Ayodhya by the BJP will be raised in the House along with other regular issues.
However, the CLP meeting could not be held as all the other MLAs of the party are camping in Sundargarh district for the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra of Rahul Gandhi from February 6.
No other Congress MLA except Mishra will be present in the House. All the MLAs will return only on February 9, the day appropriation bill will be placed in the House, party sources said.