Mandi irregularities raise heat in Odisha Assembly

BHUBANESWAR: Proceedings of the Odisha Assembly was disrupted for the third consecutive day on Friday with the Opposition Congress and BJP creating ruckus over large-scale irregularities in mandis, forcing the State government to announce that paddy of genuine farmers will be purchased.

As soon as zero hour started, leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) Narasingha Mishra sat on dharna in front of the Speaker’s podium in the well and demanded that the government should start procurement of paddy from farmers at the mandis. 

He said the government must give justice to farmers and refrain from cheating them. “We want specific reply from the government. Let the Speaker convene an all-party meeting and resolve the issue immediately,” he said.

Leader of the Opposition Pradipta Kumar Naik and other members joined Mishra in the well to stage dharna. Earlier during the question hour, BJP MLA from Deogarh Subash Chandra Panigrahi threatened self-immolation over the sufferings of farmers who are not able to sell their paddy in the mandis following the introduction of the centralised token system.  

He alleged that farmers are given tokens to sell their paddy before it is harvested. By the time the paddy is ready for sale, the tenure of the tokens elapses causing harassment to them, he said and added, this has led hundreds of farmers to protest and stage road blockades in the State. 

Panigrahi, however, returned to his seat after Speaker SN Patro assured him that he will be given opportunity to raise the issue during the zero hour. Unable to run the House due to the ruckus, the Speaker adjourned the proceedings till 4 pm. Noisy scenes also continued in the House during the afternoon session following which the Speaker convened an all-party meeting to resolve the issue. 

Making a statement in the House, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Bikram Keshari Arukha announced that criminal action will be taken against fake farmers and middlemen who have registered themselves for paddy sale by fraud. 

He said a farmer, who has registered himself by claiming to have raised paddy above three quintals in highlands, is deemed to be fraud. The government is not bound to purchase paddy from them and departmental action will be initiated against those who have issued false certificates, he said.