The budget session of the Odisha Assembly was adjourned sine die on Thursday following a marathon 14-hour discussion on two crucial bills.
The House, which commenced its proceedings at 10.30am on Wednesday, wound up the debate on two bills — Odisha Universities (Amendment Bill) and Odisha State Highways Authority Bill — on Thursday morning, with its discussions continuing through the night. This is the first time in the last two decades that the Assembly sat through the night.
Speaker Surama Padhy announced that the House was adjourned sine die at 7.06am on Thursday morning. In the absence of Congress MLAs, who had been suspended from the House for indiscipline, ruling BJP and Opposition BJD MLAs discussed the two bills thoroughly and later passed them. The BJD opposed as many as 12 amendments out of 18 amendments moved by the ruling BJP MLAs.
On Wednesday, the House resumed after a three-day holiday. In the absence of the Congress MLAs, the Question Hour and Zero Hours followed by an adjournment motion discussion passed off peacefully. Later, the Assembly took up the contentious Odisha University Amendment Bill for discussion in the afternoon.
Chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi, senior MLAs and ministers remained present throughout the discussion. Leader of the Opposition Naveen Patnaik was present in the morning session on Wednesday.
The debate continued for the universities’ amendment bill for more than 12 hours until 4.30am on Thursday. BJD MLA Arun Sahoo and Ranendra Pratap Swain took the lead in discussing the details of the bill and shared their thoughts for nearly five hours. Later, the highways authority bill was taken up for discussion.
Former minister and deputy leader of the Opposition Prasanna Acharya said: “The MLAs spent the entire night in the House, which shows how concerned they are about carrying out their responsibilities. It is a good sign for democracy. People would certainly appreciate that their MLAs can work together when needed.”
Parliamentary affairs minister Mukesh Mahaling said: “This is a people’s government. The discussion sets a high standard of democratic values and ethics.”