Bhubaneswar: An all-party delegation of Odisha MLAs Tuesday left for New Delhi to meet President Droupadi Murmu the next day.
The delegation led by Speaker B K Arukha comprises members from the ruling BJD, Opposition BJP and Congress. All the MLAs underwent RT-PCR tests Monday.
The team is scheduled to meet the President at Rashtrapati Bhavan at 11.30 AM on Wednesday.
“Her election is a source of great pride for the people of Odisha. We will congratulate the President, who was a member of the Odisha Assembly and was also a minister,” Arukha said.
Observing that the delegation will submit the resolution passed earlier in the assembly thanking her, Arukha said the MLAs will seek cooperation from the President for the overall development of the state.
Congress whip Taraprasad Bahinipati and senior MLA S S Saluja said they wish all the best for the new President who hails from Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district.
“The assembly delegation will present an idol of Lord Jagannath and the mahaprasad to the President,” Bahinipati said.
Earlier, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had also met the President along with some MPs, as did Governor Ganeshi Lal.
Murmu, who belongs to the Santal tribe, was twice elected to the assembly in 2000 and 2004, and was a minister in Patnaik’s cabinet in the BJD-BJP alliance government.
The former governor of Jharkhand won the presidential election defeating Opposition nominee Yashwant Sinha by a huge margin. She assumed office on July 25.
PTI