Bhubaneswar, Sep 25 The Odisha Assembly proceedings faced disruptions for the fourth consecutive day on Friday as opposition BJD and Congress MLAs, sporting black scarves, created a ruckus and raised slogans demanding repeal of the amended mines law passed by Parliament recently.
They also demanded resignation of School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond over the large-scale errors in textbooks for the state-run schools.
Of the total nine days of the ongoing monsoon session which began on September 22, the House could transact business for less than 90 minutes so far, an official at the Assembly secretariat said.
The official also stated that about Rs 70 lakh is spent per day for running the House.
The assembly faces a stalemate over two major issues such as the MMDR Amendment Act, 2026 and errors in school textbooks. Both opposition parties demanded the resignation of Gond and repeal of the recently passed MMDR Act.
On the fourth day, the House witnessed uproar from the beginning, with the agitating opposition members trooping into the well and raising slogans against the BJP government, forcing Deputy Speaker Bhabani Shankar Bhoi to adjourn the proceedings till 4 pm, barely four minutes into the Question Hour.
When the House reassembled at 4 pm, a similar scene was witnessed, following which the Deputy Speaker convened an all-party meeting to bring normalcy.
The House was adjourned for 15 minutes each for five times for holding the all-party meeting to resolve the issue, but it yielded no result as the opposition members pressed on their demands for the minister’s resignation and repeal of MMDR Act, 2026.
Finally, Bhoi adjourned the House for the day till 10.30 am on September 28. Saturday and Sunday were earlier marked as no meeting days in the Assembly calendar.
The recent amendments made by the Centre to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act have curbed the power of state governments to impose taxes, cess and other levies on mineral rights and mineral-bearing lands.
The school textbook errors include describing iconic scientist Isaac Newton as the “greatest pilot”, placing Odisha’s Niyamgiri Hills in Jharkhand and printing a photograph of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly while labelling it as the Odisha Legislative Assembly.
Both BJD and Congress have alleged that the law “snatches the rights” of mineral-rich states and weakens their financial autonomy.
(PTI News)
