Odisha Assembly Speaker election rescheduled for Nuakhai

Bhubaneswar: Following a decision by both opposition parties BJP and Congress to boycott the Odisha Assembly Speaker election scheduled on September 21, the government deferred the date by a day.

In view of Nuakhai festival celebration in western Odisha, the Government rescheduled the Assembly Speaker election to September 22.

Hence, the election for Odisha Assembly Speaker election will be held on September 22 instead of 21.

Both the BJP and Congress recently announced to boycott of the Speaker election on September 21, as it coincided with Nuakhai festival, an agrarian festival in the western part of Odisha. They accused the BJD government of maintaining a “step-motherly” attitude towards the people of the western region of the state.

BJP MLA Nauri Nayak at a press conference alleged that the BJD government has no respect towards the sentiments of the western Odisha people.

“It is not possible for the MLAs of western Odisha to reach the Odisha Assembly a day after the Nuakhai festival. The day after Nuakhai is celebrated as Bhet-ghat. We had demanded to postpone the election date, but the government did not pay heed to it,” Nayak said.

Earlier, Congress Legislature Party leader Narasingha Mishra had announced that that his party’s MLAs will not join the election process for Nuakhai festival.

“It is unfortunate that the government decided to hold the Speaker election on September 21. The Congress MLAs will not be able to attend the Speaker election on that day. It is a step-motherly attitude towards western Odisha,” he alleged.