Bhubaneswar, Sep 22: The opening day of the Monsoon Session of the Odisha Assembly was marked by repeated disruptions on Tuesday as Opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Congress members protested over errors in school textbooks and the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2026.
BJD legislators entered the Well of the House and raised slogans demanding the resignation of School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond over alleged errors in textbooks distributed to students. Congress MLAs, meanwhile, protested against the recently amended mining legislation and demanded its withdrawal.
The protests began after the House adopted an obituary reference mourning the deaths of six former legislators and people killed in flash floods in Nepal. As Question Hour commenced, Opposition members carrying placards entered the Well, preventing normal proceedings.
Speaker Surama Padhy appealed to the protesting members to return to their seats and allow the House to function. With the appeals failing to end the protest, she adjourned the proceedings twice—first until 1.10 pm and later until 4 pm.
After the adjournment, BJD MLAs joined a protest by the party’s youth and student wings on Mahatma Gandhi Marg. Opposition Chief Whip Pramila Mallik said the party would continue demanding accountability over the textbook issue and sought the minister’s resignation.
The government, however, maintained that corrective action had already been taken. BJP MLA Irasish Acharya criticised the Opposition for disrupting Assembly proceedings, saying corrected textbooks were being distributed. The School and Mass Education Department had begun distributing revised books after reviewing the errors, with more than 44,000 corrected copies supplied on the first day in the initial phase.
The nine-day Monsoon Session is scheduled to continue until October 3. Six government bills are expected to be introduced during the session, while issues including the MMDR amendment and textbook errors are likely to remain major points of debate.
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