By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: The second day of the Odisha Legislative Assembly’s Budget Session on Wednesday was largely disrupted by opposition protests, preventing any substantial legislative business from taking place.
The session began with a ceremonial highlight: Speaker Surama Padhy received a traditional guard of honour before proceedings started.
As soon as the House assembled, opposition members—primarily from the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Congress—created an uproar. They protested alleged irregularities, mismanagement, and failures in paddy procurement across the state, accusing the government of issues in mandis and procurement processes.
Opposition MLAs reportedly stormed the Well of the House, raised slogans, and in some reports, even brought paddy (rice) into the assembly as a symbolic demonstration.
Despite appeals from Speaker Surama Padhy for order and smooth conduct, the disruptions continued.
No scheduled business was transacted. The agenda for the day included the start of discussions on the Motion of Thanks to the Governor’s address (delivered on the first day, February 17).
The House was adjourned multiple times: First adjourned till 11:30 AM due to the initial chaos. When it resumed at 11:30 AM, similar uproarious scenes persisted, leading to a further adjournment till 4 PM.
As a result, the entire day’s proceedings were stalled, with no debates, question hour discussions, or other business completed.
This reflects ongoing tensions over agricultural issues, particularly paddy procurement, which has been a flashpoint between the ruling BJP government and the opposition. Updates beyond the afternoon adjournment (till 4 PM) may depend on whether the House reconvened productively later in the day, but reports indicate heavy disruptions dominated the proceedings.
