The Winter Session of the Odisha Assembly beginning on Thursday is set to be stormy as the Opposition has planned to raise a host of issues including the case of honey-trapper and blackmailer Archana Nag in which several ruling party MLAs are said to be involved.  

Opposition Congress and BJP held their legislature party meetings on Wednesday to chalk out strategies to corner the State Government.

Besides the Archana Nag case, farmers’ issues like mandi mismanagement, the law and order situation and contractual employment are among the key issues the Opposition planned to raise.

“Our party will raise farmers’ issues including mandi mismanagement, police inaction in the Archana Nag case and corruption in MGNREGA schemes,” Opposition Chief Whip Mohan Majhi (BJP) said.

Congress MLA Santosh Singh Saluja also said farmer issues and the Archana Nag case would be raised during the session.

On the other hand, the ruling BJD has readied its ammunitions to counter the Opposition offensive. The party will hold its legislature party meeting on Thursday morning.

“The Opposition has the right to raise any issue in the Assembly. We are prepared to face the issues. We hope they will cooperate in a smooth functioning of the House,” Government Chief Whip Prashant Muduli said.

The Assembly session will be held without Covid-19 restrictions and all the members can occupy their respective seats. The Press Gallery will also be opened for mediapersons.

However, the MLAs, who are unwell, can attend the session through videoconferencing with prior written approval.

The session is scheduled to continue till December 31. The Supplementary Budget for the financial year 2022-23 would be presented on the first day. The session will have 33 working days, of which six have been earmarked for private members' business.