Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Legislative Assembly was thrown into chaos on Wednesday as BJD and Congress MLAs staged a mock funeral inside the premises to protest the deadly fire at Cuttack’s SCB Medical College and Hospital, which claimed 12 lives and left 20 others injured.
The blaze, reportedly caused by a short circuit in the first-floor Trauma ICU, occurred while patients were asleep. In a dramatic display of dissent, MLAs carried a sacred pot (Kalash) and fried paddy (Khoi), offered flowers, and chanted “Ram Naam Satya Hai” to symbolically mark the death of the state’s health system.
Speaking outside the Assembly, senior BJD leader and Nayagarh MLA Arun Kumar Sahoo said, “The health department is dead. Today, we are performing this funeral procession and will take it to the cremation ground. Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) has now turned into ‘Sasmana Yojana.’ The health department in Odisha is not functioning properly and is effectively dead.”
A Congress legislator also criticised the state government, stating that officials had visited SCB Hospital on the morning of March 16, the day of the fire, but returned quickly without taking meaningful action. “The government was busy with the Rajya Sabha elections and ‘horse-trading,’ showing no concern for patients. The Health Minister must resign immediately,” he added.
Both BJD and Congress MLAs demanded the resignation of Health & Family Welfare Minister Mukesh Mahaling. Several lawmakers displayed placards reading, “We demand the resignation of the Health Minister,” as the Assembly proceedings were disrupted.
The SCB Hospital fire has sparked outrage across Odisha, with families of the victims and political leaders calling for a thorough investigation into the safety lapses that led to the tragedy.
