Paddy procurement row: Odisha Minister to present statement in House tomorrow

Sambad English Bureau Published On : Mar 18, 2021 at 7:05 PM Updated On : Mar 18, 2021 at 7:06 PM

Bhubaneswar: Following a high drama outside Naveen Niwas, the residence of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, and stalemate in the State Assembly for sixth day today over alleged paddy procurement and mandi irregularities, the ruling party agreed to make a statement in the House on the matter on Friday.

As per a decision taken during an all-party meeting called by Speaker SN Patro to restore normalcy in the State Assembly, Civil Supplies Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain will present the government’s stance on the paddy procurement and mandi issue in the House at 11.30 AM tomorrow.

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The Chief Minister directed the Supplies Minister to make the statement in the House.

Also, the all-party meeting decided that BJP MLA of Deogarh, Subash Panigrahi’s suicide attempt matter would not be raised in the House.

The Privilege Committee will look into the suicide attempt allegations against Panigrahi and submit a report to the Speaker.

Earlier in the day, BJP MLAs marched towards Naveen Niwas shouting slogans and holding placards to meet the Chief Minister and apprised him about mandi irregularities. They sat in a dharna in front of the Chief Minister’s residence after finding the gate locked.

Even though the ruling party MLAs, who were present at Naveen Niwas, requested the BJP MLAs to come inside and discuss the matter, the protestors did not budge.

The Chief Minister then reached the main gate and requested the BJP MLAs to come inside. Following this, the protestors went into the Chief Minister’s residence and held a discussion on the issue.