Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Universities (Amendment) Bill was passed in the State Assembly in the early hours of Thursday, following an intense debate between the ruling party and the Opposition. The discussion, which lasted for more than 12 hours, concluded with the bill’s approval at around 4:30 am.

Shortly after the bill was passed, the budget session of the 17th Odisha Legislative Assembly was adjourned sine die, three days ahead of its scheduled completion. The Assembly proceedings had begun at 10:30 am on Wednesday and continued non-stop until 7:05 am on Thursday.

Following the bill’s passage, Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj expressed optimism, stating that Odisha is set to enter a new era in education. He also extended his gratitude to all members of the Assembly for their participation in the discussion.

The ruling party had put forward 18 amendments to the bill, out of which 12 faced opposition from BJD legislators. BJD MLA Arun Sahoo raised concerns over the bill’s validity, arguing that it was an amendment to the 1989 bill but was introduced in 2024. He suggested that the matter could eventually be debated in the Supreme Court.