Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Legislative Assembly was adjourned till 1 pm today amidst pandemonium as Opposition parties continued their protest over the SCB Hospital fire incident. The Speaker Surama Padhy called an all-party meeting to resolve the deadlock.
Earlier, the House was adjourned – first till 11:30 am due to the ruffle caused by BJD and Congress MLAs demanding the Health Minister’s resignation. The opposition members, holding placards and banners, shouted slogans like ‘Double Engine, Double Dhoka’ and ‘Health Minister Must Resign’.
The situation turned chaotic as MLAs tried to climb the Speaker’s podium, prompting security personnel to intervene. The protest was over the government’s alleged negligence in the SCB Hospital fire incident that claimed 13 lives. The protesting MLAs are adamant on the Health Minister’s resignation, refusing to let the House proceed with its business.
Despite the ruffle, Question Hour for the Education Department continued. MLA Tankadhar Tripathy’s question was answered by Minister Nityananda Gond. Later, Higher Education Suryabanshi Suraj responded to a query on the implementation of National Education Policy-2020 in Higher Education. However, the opposition’s noise drowned out the Minister’s response.
