Bhubaneswar, Nov 25: The winter session of Odisha Assembly on Friday witnessed uproarious scenes over the problems of farmers in the state forcing Speaker B K Arukh to adjourn the house till 1130 hours.
As the house assembled at 1030 hours this morning to take up the question hour business, the opposition Congress and BJP members trooped into the well of the house over input subsidy issue, mandi problem and Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and started raising slogans against the BJD government.
To counter the opposition, the BJD members also rushed into the well of the house and shouted slogans over the demand for an increase in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Paddy.
The house soon plunged into a chaotic situation as the Opposition members rushed to the podium and disrupted the business.
Speaker Arukh appealed to the Opposition members to go back to their seats and raise the issue during the zero hour but the Opposition remained adamant on their demand.
Finding no other solution to bring the situation in order, the Speaker adjourned the house till 1130 hours.
Soon after the house adjourned ,the BJD members carrying posters on the hike in the MSP for paddy went to the Mahatma Gandhi statue inside the Assembly premises and sat on dharna near the statue demanding the hike of MSP for paddy to Rs.2930 per quintal.
Government Chief whip Prashant Kumar Muduli said the Odisha Assembly in the past had passed a unanimous resolution to hike the MSP for paddy to Rs.2930 per quintal but the Modi government had not implemented it .
He alleged that due to the discrimination attitude of the Centre in supply of fertilizers to Odisha , the farmers in state are suffering a lot and are also deprived of insurance benefit under the PMFBY.
The Opposition members also sat on dharna near the Gopabandhu statue in support of their demands.
BJP Chief whip Mohan Majhi accused the BJD government of not declaring the districts of Western Odisha drought prone depriving the insurance benefit to the farmers under the PMFBY.
The state government, he also alleged that have not yet released Rs.100 bonus to the farmers per quintal of paddy as announced by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and declared the input subsidy of Rs.200 crore only recently keeping the Padampur Assembly bypoll in view which he said was nothing but a vote bank politics.
Majhi said the Opposition wanted a motion on farmers’ issue to be debated in the house but the Speaker did not accept the motion.
He alleged that there has been an unholy nexus between the millers and the officials involving corruption to the tune of Rs.3000 crore in the procurement of paddy every year forcing the distress sale of paddy by the farmers.
