Bhubaneswar: Ahead of the monsoon Session of the Odisha Assembly beginning tomorrow, Speaker Surama Padhy convened an all party meeting on Monday to seek cooperation from ruling and opposition members for orderly proceedings.
The meeting, chaired by the Speaker, was attended by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi.
Besides Majhi, Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mukesh Mahaling, deputy leader of the BJD Legislature Party Prasanna Acharya, Opposition chief whip Pramila Mallik, deputy chief whip Pratap Keshari Deb, were present in the meeting.
Several issues, including running the House smoothly and agenda to be taken up, were discussed during the meeting, officials said.
The Assembly session, scheduled to commence on September 22 is likely to be stormy over the MMDR Amendment Act, 2026, with the Opposition BJD and Congress planning to corner the BJP Government over the legislation and its alleged financial implications for mineral-rich Odisha.
Earlier, Deputy Leader of Opposition Prasanna Acharya said that the party would raise the issue from the beginning of the session. The BJD alleged that due to the new legislation the State could lose nearly Rs 1 lakh crore in mining-related arrears.
The BJD will also raise other issues, including textbook errors, law and order, agrarian distress, women’s safety and protection of tribal rights.
The Congress is also set to target the government over the MMDR amendment. CLP leader Ramachandra Kadam said the legislation, textbook errors and law and order would be among the main issues to be raised by Congress MLAs during the short session. The legislature parties of both the Opposition parties would meet a day ahead of the session to set the agenda.
The ruling BJP, meanwhile, has maintained that it is ready to face the questions raised by the Opposition.
The BJP Legislature Party, headed by CM Majhi, will meet on Monday to finalise the strategy to face the opposition during the session.
The seventh session of the 17th Assembly begins on September 22. According to the provisional calendar of sittings issued by the Assembly Secretariat the House is scheduled to sit till October 3. Most days have been earmarked for official business. Friday, September 25, has been set aside for Private Members’ Business, including bills and resolutions.
There will be no sittings on September 26 and 27. October 2 will be observed as a holiday on account of Gandhi Jayanti.