Bhubaneswar: Opposition Congress and BJP and ruling BJD stalled Assembly proceedings in Odisha several times on Tuesday over separate issues.

The Congress agitated against the distress sale of paddy, while the BJP protested against the failure of the Odisha government in assessment of crop damage due to pest attack and untimely rainfall. A delegation of the BJP legislators also met governor S.C. Jamir to register their protest over the issue. Later, the BJD also lodged its protest and stalled Assembly proceedings over Mahanadi water-sharing between Odisha and Chhattisgarh.

The Congress and BJP legislators stormed the well and thumped the Speaker's podium to disrupt the proceedings, the BJD MLAs raised the issue of "betrayal" of the Centre on Mahanadi issue. Standing near their seats, they shouted slogans against the Centre and Chhattisgarh governments.

The pandemonium led to frequent adjournments of the Assembly proceedings in the morning and in the afternoon.

Amidst the protest, BJD MLA Sanjay Das Burma alleged that the Central government had backed out from its earlier commitment for constitution of Mahanadi tribunal and protected the BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh's cause. He also referred to the fresh move of the Chhattisgarh government to interlink three of its smaller rivers with Mahanadi that will "further reduce Mahanadi's flow downstream".

Opposition leader Narasingha Mishra said that both the Central and state governments were exploiting the farmers, forcing them for distress sale of paddy. He alleged that the mandis were not purchasing the paddy at the minimum support price of Rs 1,550 per quintal, even as the production cost was Rs 2,444 per quintal. "Even the paddy mandis were deducting Rs 5 to Rs 10 per kg on the pretext that the paddy was not up to fair average quality norms," he said.