Budget Session Of Odisha Assembly Expected To Be Stormy

Bhubaneswar: With the Assembly and general elections barely few months away, the budget session of the Odisha Assembly beginning on Monday is most likely to be stormy one as the Opposition and the ruling BJD will lock horns on several issues.

The Congress has decided to corner the government on several fronts including on issues such farmers’ problems, unemployment, lawyers’ strike, the alleged involvement of BJD leaders in chit fund scam and rising incidents in the rape of minor girls.

The BJP has also planned to target the BJD government for taking up the poll campaign through the sponsored welfare schemes like the Ama Gaon Ama Bikash Yojana, Biju Yuva Vahini, KALIA scheme and Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana.

Besides, the saffron party will rake up issues like distress sale of paddy, rampant irregularities in mandis (paddy procurement centres), unemployment, rising atrocities on woman and girl children and the summoning of two senior BJD leaders Arun Sahu and Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak by the CBI in connection with the Seashore chit fund scam.

On the other hand, the BJD will target the BJP-led Government at the Centre on issues like slash in Central assistance to Odisha, delay in the release of pending Central assistance, Mahanadi water row, Polavaram dam, minimum support price (MSP) of paddy and revision of coal royalty.

The budget session to be concluded on February 12 will have seven working days, of which there will be six government working days and one private working day. There will be two government holidays on February 9 and 10.

The state government will present the vote on account instead of a full-fledged budget on February 7 in view of the elections. The vote on account will be presented by the Finance Minister Sashibhusan Behera.

This would be followed by the Appropriation Bill which would be tabled in the House on February 8. The House will have a discussion on the Private Member Bills on the last day of the session.

The inaugural session of the State Assembly will be addressed by the Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal.