Bhubaneswar: The 40-day long Winter Session of the Odisha Legislative Assembly began Friday. Minutes after the start, the House was adjourned for first half of the day as a mark of respect to former Speaker Sarat Kumar Kar, ex-government Chief Whip Gurupada Nanda, ex- member Kartikeswar Patra and COVID-19 warriors. The session began at 11.00am.
Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari will table the supplementary budget of around Rs11,000 crore for the 2020-21 fiscal year on the first day of the Winter Session.
This apart, the first day of the Winter Session is likely to witness three Ordinances to be laid before the Assembly. Two of the Ordinances will be tabled by Labour Minister Susant Singh and one by Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Bikram Keshari Arukh had earlier said that like the Monsoon Session, there will be no question hours in the ongoing session. No starred questions will also be asked and proceedings will also be held Sundays. This has irked opposition members to a great extent and they questioned the validity of such a decision.
The ongoing session will continue till December 31.
PNN