In a day of high drama, the Odisha Assembly witnessed unrelenting disruptions from opposition BJD and Congress MLAs, who protested alleged scams in mandi operations and pushed for Epstein files scrutiny. The Monday melee prevented any substantive business, marking yet another lost day in the legislative calendar.
BJD members flooded the assembly floor minutes into Question Hour, posters aloft, hurling accusations at the ruling BJP for systemic failures in paddy buying. Farmers, they claimed, face unprecedented hardship without procurement support or MSP guarantees, pushing many into financial ruin.
Not to be outdone, Congress lawmakers amplified the disorder, demanding the House deliberate on the controversial Epstein revelations. Speaker Surama Padhi’s appeals fell on deaf ears as slogans drowned out all attempts at order.
Forced adjournments punctuated the session repeatedly until it was called off till evening. Post-adjournment, BJD veteran Devi Shankar Mishra addressed reporters, unleashing a scathing critique of the Naveen Patnaik successor administration.
“This is a matter of shame,” he said. “True governance prioritizes the welfare of the underprivileged, farmers, and vulnerable groups. Regrettably, this regime doesn’t understand welfare’s essence.”
Mishra pointed to broken pledges on free power and MSP enhancements amid soaring input costs for seeds, manure, and more. “Farmers are being ignored despite escalating agricultural expenses,” he emphasized.
With BJD scheduling a major demonstration tomorrow, the impasse signals escalating confrontations. The episode lays bare fault lines in Odisha politics, where agrarian unrest threatens to dominate headlines and influence voter sentiments in the coming months.