Assembly session starts today, oppn gears up to corner govt

Bhubaneswar: Parliamentary affairs minister Mukesh Mahaling on Wednesday met governor Hari Babu Kambhampati and apprised him of the agenda for the monsoon session of Odisha Legislative Assembly, which begins on Thursday.“We had a wide-ranging discussion on various matters scheduled to be taken up during the session,” Mahaling said after the meeting.The monsoon session is expected to be politically charged, with opposition BJD and Congress gearing up to corner the govt on multiple fronts. In the run-up to the session, Congress had announced plans to bring a no-confidence motion against the BJP govt, while BJD had declared to raise issues relating to women’s safety, farmer welfare and deteriorating law and order situation.Addressing the BJD legislature party meeting, leader of opposition Naveen Patnaik accused the govt of incompetence and apathy. He cited the deteriorating law and order, rising atrocities against women, fertiliser supply crisis and threats to farmers’ welfare as key concerns.He also criticized the govt’s move to enhance the financial powers of officers, alleging it was an attempt to sideline elected panchayat representatives and undermine democratic values in the panchayati raj system. “This decision will be strongly opposed,” Naveen said.Congress legislature party leader Rama Chandra Kadam said they would bring a no-confidence motion as the govt has lost people’s trust. “We will raise issues like fertiliser shortage, rising crimes against women and children, and displacement of people in the name of industrialisation. These are pressing concerns that demand immediate attention,” Kadam said.