Odisha Assembly / Odisha Assembly Speaker Surama Padhy Convenes All-Party Meet Ahead of Budget Session
Key Points
- Speaker Surama Padhy convenes all-party meeting for smooth proceedings.
- Governor’s address on Feb. 17, Budget presentation on Feb. 20.
- Opposition to raise law and order, farmers’ distress etc.
- Appropriation Bill scheduled for March 31.
Bhubaneswar, Feb 16: Odisha Assembly Speaker Surama Padhy on Monday convened an all-party meeting ahead of the Budget session, urging cooperation from both ruling and opposition members to ensure smooth conduct of proceedings, officials said.
The session is scheduled to begin on February 17 and
continue till April 8, with a recess from February 25 to March 8.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Deputy Chief Minister
K.V. Singh Deo, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mukesh Mahaling, BJD deputy
leader Prasanna Acharya, and Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Rama
Chandra Kadam attended the meeting held on the Assembly premises.
Outlining the schedule, Speaker Padhy said Governor Hari
Babu Kambhampati will address the House on Tuesday, followed by a two-day
discussion on the motion of thanks on February 18 and 19.
Chief Minister Majhi, who also holds the Finance portfolio,
will present the State Budget for 2026–27 on February 20. A general discussion
on the Budget is slated for February 23 and 24, while the Appropriation Bill
will be tabled on March 31.
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The session is expected to be contentious, with opposition
parties preparing to corner the government on issues such as deteriorating law
and order, farmers’ distress, and low budget utilisation.
Acharya said the BJD legislature party, under the leadership
of Opposition leader Naveen Patnaik, would finalise its strategy later in the
day.
Congress leader Kadam said his party has urged the Speaker
to remain impartial during proceedings. The CLP will meet later in the evening
to chalk out its strategy, he added.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mahaling emphasised that the
meeting was aimed at ensuring smooth functioning of the House. “We hope all
members will cooperate to run the House smoothly,” he said.
With both the BJD and Congress sharpening their attack, the
government faces a challenging session where governance, expenditure, and
public welfare are likely to dominate debates.
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