The monsoon session of the Odisha Assembly opened on Thursday with the Opposition Congress submitting a notice for a no-confidence motion against the Mohan Charan Majhi government.
The notice was submitted to the Speaker Surama Padhy through the Assembly secretary Satyabrata Rout.
Congress Legislature Party leader Rama Chandra Kadam said: “The BJP government led by Mohan Majhi has failed to act. Women are not safe under this government. Crime against women has gone up. Law and order in the state has collapsed. Farmers, Dalits and OBCs have been equally neglected. There is no job for the youths, unemployment has peaked, and corruption is rampant. No one is happy with the government. Employees are protesting. The state has also failed to conduct campus polls. We don’t have faith in the government. That’s why we have brought the notice for no-confidence motion.”
The lone MLA from Communist Party of India, Laxman Munda, backed the motion. The Congress has also sought BJD support when the issue is taken up in the House. “As per norms and House rules, the Speaker is authorised to discuss the issue after Question Hour. We are prepared to rake up the government’s failures on various fronts,” said senior Congress MLA Taraprasad Bahinipati.
Kadam also reminded the Speaker of the March 26 budget session incident involving the entry of anti-social elements and theft of belongings, including a gold chain, watch, goggles, pants and shirts, from MLAs.
Though the BJD has yet to take a formal stand, its chief whip Pramilla Mallick said the party always stood with the cause of the people. “Let the Congress officially place its proposal before us and then we will take up the issue for discussion,” she said.
However, sources said the BJD is unlikely to back the Congress move. With 81 BJP MLAs and support from three independents, the Majhi government faces no real threat. The BJD’s strength stands at 50 following the death of Nuapada MLA Rajendra Dholkia, while Congress has only 14 MLAs.
The opening day of the monsoon session saw little business, with the House adjourning after an obituary reference.