BHUBANESWAR: The monsoon session of the Odisha Assembly got off to a turbulent start on Tuesday, with BJD and Congress members storming the well of the House over the MMDR Amendment Act, 2026, and school textbook errors.
The day began with obituary references paid to six former members of the House and victims of the recent flash floods in Nepal. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi moved the motion, remembering former ministers Dambarudhar Majhi and Sushant Singh, former chief whip Satya Bhusan Sahu and others.
However, as soon as the question hour began, BJD and Congress members trooped into the well, raising slogans against the BJP government. While BJD MLAs targeted errors found in textbooks for Classes I to VIII, Congress members pressed for the withdrawal of the MMDR Amendment Act.
Speaker Surama Padhy had to adjourn the House till 1.10 pm as the Opposition members did not relent despite her repeated request to return to their seats. The BJD MLAs then headed to Mahatma Gandhi Marg to join an agitation by the party’s youth and student wings, who were demanding the resignation of School and Mass Education minister Nityananda Gond over the textbook lapses.
“We joined the agitation demanding Gond’s resignation over errors in textbooks.
The minister must be held accountable for the distribution of books with errors to schoolchildren,” said Opposition chief whip Pramila Mallick.
When the House reconvened, the Opposition once again refused to take their seats, forcing deputy Speaker Bhabani Shankar Bhoi to adjourn proceedings till 4 pm. With slogan-shouting continuing unabated in the well, the House was then adjourned till Wednesday.
BJP MLA Irasish Acharya criticised the Opposition for disrupting the proceedings from the beginning of the session. Acharya told mediapersons that the government has taken action in the textbook error matter and corrected books are being distributed. The Opposition is disrupting the proceedings without any reason, he stated.
