Bhubaneswar: The first session of the Odisha Legislative Assembly began on Tuesday with the oath-taking ceremony of the newly-elected MLAs. Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi was the first to take the oath, followed by Deputy Chief Ministers KV Singh Deo and Pravati Parida.
Pro-tem Speaker Ranendra Pratap Swain administered the oath to the new members.
The oath-taking ceremony will continue till tomorrow while the election for the Speaker will be held on June 20.
Following the tradition, MLAs including CM and Deputy CMs paid floral tribute to Mahatma Gandhi before taking oath.
BJD president and Hinjili MLA Naveen Patnaik also took oath along with several other MLAs.
The Biju Janata Dal is scheduled to hold its first legislature party meeting on Wednesday to elect BJD president Naveen Patnaik unanimously as the Leader of Opposition (LoP). One of the senior BJD leaders is likely to be his deputy in the House.
BJP’s Digapahandi MLA Sidhant Mohapatra reached Odisha Assembly on a bicycle to take the oath, sources said.
Talking to media, BJD’s Puri MLA Sunil Mohanty said, “I took oath as MLA today and it was possible due to blessing of common mass. Odisha allowed the saffron party to form the government this time. BJD had served people for a long time. The opposition always plays a crucial role in politics. When my father Maheswar Mohanty became MLA for the first time in 1995, he was in the Opposition. Whatever the ruling party MLAs could not do, my father did. I hope I can follow his footprint and make a mark.”
