Assembly winter session begins today: Oppn to corner govt over mango kernel deaths

Bhubaneswar: Ahead of the upcoming winter session of the Odisha Assembly, the leaders of all major political parties participated in an all-party meeting held under the chairmanship of Speaker Surama Padhy here on Monday.

Speaking to mediapersons, Padhy said that the all-party meeting was convened as per the procedural rules. She further said that Chief Minister and Leader of the House Mohan Charan Majhi, Opposition BJD Chief Whip Pramila Mallik and Congress Legislature Party Leader Ramchandra Kadam among others participated in the meeting.”We have deliberated extensively to ensure a smooth and productive session of the Assembly. The meeting was successful,” said Padhy. The Opposition Biju Janata Dal and Congress, on the other hand, are all set to corner the State government on various issues, including the law-and-order situation in the State and the mango kernel death issue.Senior BJD leader Pratap Keshari Deb said there are several burning issues which will be raised by the BJD during the Assembly session.“As a responsible Opposition, we will take up these issues and put the government in dock,” said Deb.

Meanwhile, Director General of Police YB Khurania on Monday reviewed the security arrangements at Vidhan Sabha ahead of the winter session which is going to commence from November 26.Police Commissioner S Dev Datta Singh, ADG (Law & Order) Sanjay Kumar and Bhubaneswar DCP Pinak Mishra along with other senior police officials were also present.

“The Commissionerate Police have made extensive arrangements for the Assembly session which is going to begin fromTuesday. Three-tier security arrangements have been put in place for the Assembly session. As many as 30 platoons of police force and more than 300 officers will be deployed for the security of the State Assembly during the session. Adequate security arrangements have also been made at the designated places for dharna,” said Khurania.

The second session of the 17th Odisha Assembly will begin on November 26

and will continue till December 31.