Bhubaneswar: Distress sale of tomatoes rocked the Odisha Assembly with BJP and Congress members creating din over the issue following which Speaker Pradip Amat adjourned the House for second time today till 3 PM.
As soon as the House assembled for today's business, Congress members rushed to the well of the House and shouted slogans near the Speaker's podium holding tomatoes. On the other hand, BJP legislators stood beside their seats as a mark of protest.
Unable to run the House, the Speaker adjourned the proceedings till 11.30 AM.
Following the adjournment, when the House reassembled, Opposition members again resorted to sloganeering at the start of the zero hour forcing the Speaker to make an adjournment till 3 PM.
"Media reports say at some places people are not ready to purchase tomatoes at Re 1 per kg. It shows that the State government has failed to understand the problems of farmers. Therefore, we demanded that the State should stop distress sale of tomatoes and ensure right prices for farmers," said Opposition leader Narasingha Mishra.
Expressing similar views, Opposition chief whip Tara Prasad Bahinipati, asked, "Is this a special budget for farmers? The government is only making tall claims. We demand that the Speaker should call an all-party meeting and direct the government to take measures to stop distress sale of vegetables."
Lambasting the State government, BJP MLA Rabi Nayak said, "Farmers are not provided adequate marketing facilities for their agricultural produce. The State government has failed to ensure that they get right prices of their agricultural produce."
Criticising the BJP and the Congress, ruling BJD MLA Sanjay Das Burma said, "During the zero hour the Opposition could have raised the issue. But the way they disrupted the proceedings is unacceptable."