Zero hour, adjournment motion to be allowed in monsoon session: Odisha Assembly Speaker

BHUBANESWAR: With the Monsoon session of Odisha Assembly set to begin from September 29, Speaker Surjya Narayan Patro on Tuesday announced that except Question Hour, all other businesses of the House will be taken up in line with the functioning of the Parliament. 

The Assembly will conduct other remaining businesses like Zero Hour, adjournment and calling attention motion. The issues will be taken up for discussion at the all-party meeting scheduled on September 25, he said.

The Speaker went round the Assembly to review the seating and other arrangements made for the MLAs during the session. Patro said the session will be conducted with strict adherence to Covid-19 guidelines. 

As part of this, seating arrangements have been made for 145 legislators who will have to maintain a distance of at least four feet from each other. Arrangements have been made for seating legislators in the visitors’ gallery, he said and added that like in Parliament, a glass shield will be fitted in front of the seat of each member. 

On attendance, the Speaker said senior legislators unwilling to attend the session will have to inform the Assembly in advance and they can participate in the House proceedings through video conferencing either in their homes, the district headquarters office, or at the conference hall of the Odisha Computer Application Centre (OCAC).

However, at least 50 legislators including eight ministers have been tested Covid-19 positive and are in isolation. A decision is yet to be taken how the infected ministers and MLAs many of whom are asymptomatic will participate in the House proceedings. They will, however, be not allowed inside the Assembly.

The Speaker also informed that one team of each media house will be allowed to cover the proceedings.
Leader of the Opposition Pradipta Naik said that issues relating to the common people, failure of the government in Covid-19 management, and irregularities in the procurement of masks, PPEs, and other materials will be raised during the session. The BJP Legislature Party will meet on September 28 to decide on issues to be raised in the session. 

Leader of the Congress Legislature Party Narasingh Mishra said a decision is yet to be taken on the date of the CLP meeting.