Bhubaneswar, February 16 The Odisha assembly is likely to witness heated debates during the budget session, which begins on Tuesday, as the opposition BJD and Congress will raise a number of issues, such as alleged mismanagement of paddy procurement and the Mahanadi water dispute, in the House.
Leader of the Opposition Naveen Patnaik, while addressing BJD legislators on Monday, alleged that the current "double-engine" government has been "focused on slogans and photo opportunities, while our farmers are spending nights under the open sky at mandis, guarding their produce".
"If the voices of the farmers are not heard in the state-run mandis, they must be heard in the assembly," he said.
The BJD, at its legislative party meeting, decided to raise issues, such as alleged mismanagement of paddy procurement, the Mahanadi water dispute with Chhattisgarh, "deteriorating" law and order, and the government's "inability" to utilize budget allocations, in the session.
Patnaik informed BJD lawmakers that the reports received from district units were clear that the anger of farmers was at a "boiling point".
"In the assembly session, we will not allow the government to hide behind rhetoric. Our strategy must be clinical and relentless. We will use every parliamentary tool – questions, walkouts, and demonstrations on the floor – to ensure that the government answers for its failures," the BJD chief told party MLAs.
The former chief minister came down heavily on the BJP government, claiming that the "budget expenditure up to December was roughly 47 per cent".
The BJD MLAs accused the BJP dispensation of "having no interest" in resolving the Mahanadi water dispute with Chhattisgarh.
"This government has failed on all fronts, except for false publicity. We should aggressively fight in the budget session of the assembly to protect the interests of our farmers, women, students, and the Odia identity," Patnaik said in the meeting.
Congress Legislature Party leader Rama Chandra Kadam said the party will raise "issues related to farmers, the Mahanadi and Polavaram issues, and highlight atrocities on scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, OBCs, and minorities".
"The Congress MLAs will raise social justice issues, such as the caste row at an Anganwadi centre in Kendrapara district," he said.
OPCC president Bhakta Charan Das said the Congress, as a responsible opposition party, is committed to presenting the problems of the people and ensuring the accountability of the government.
The ruling BJP, at its legislative party meeting under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, prepared for a healthy discussion in the House.
"We are ready to discuss all the issues that will be raised by the opposition party. We will present all the aspects of the 19-month BJP government to the people," said Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mukesh Mahaling.