Odisha assembly speaker urges cooperation for upcoming Vidhan Sabha session

Bhubaneswar: Odisha assembly speaker Surama Padhy on Tuesday called upon all parties to ensure a smooth and productive Vidhan Sabha session scheduled from Sept 18 to 25. Her appeal came after presiding over an all-party meeting aimed at fostering consensus and cooperation.“The Vidhan Sabha is a vital forum for members to raise public concerns. I urged both treasury and opposition benches to cooperate for a fruitful session and to voice issues within the bounds of legislative norms,” Padhy said.The opposition, BJD and Congress, are preparing to challenge the govt on a range of pressing matters, including the recent “surge” in crimes against women and an alleged shortage of urea during peak agricultural season.The meeting was attended by chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi, deputy CM Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, BJD chief whip Pramila Mallik, and Congress Legislature Party leader Rama Chandra Kadam, among others.Mallik said BJD would raise several unresolved issues, including the plight of farmers, crimes against women, and concerns affecting students, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes.Kadam emphasised the Congress party’s commitment to playing the role of a constructive opposition. “From the rise in crimes against women to the government’s failure in ensuring adequate fertilizer supply for farmers, numerous issues are impacting the people. We will hold the government accountable,” he said, adding that the Congress legislature party would finalize its agenda in a meeting on Wednesday.The upcoming session will span six working days. The first day proceedings will be adjourned after obituary reference to sitting member Rajendra Dholakia, who recently died.