Paddy Protest Rocks Assembly; Cong MLA Questions MSP Restriction

Bhubaneswar: The second day of the Odisha Assembly’s Budget Session on Wednesday was marred by repeated disruptions as Opposition members staged protests over alleged irregularities in paddy procurement, forcing the House to be adjourned twice.

Amid continuous sloganeering, Speaker Surama Padhy first adjourned the proceedings till 11:30 am and later till 4 pm as the uproar showed no signs of subsiding.

The controversy intensified after MLA Sagar Charan Das raised an unstarred question seeking clarity on the government’s procurement policy. He questioned why farmers were allegedly being restricted to selling only up to 150 quintals of paddy at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Rs 3,100 per quintal. He also demanded the rationale behind the decision, supported by operational and fiscal data.

In a written reply, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Krushna Chandra Patra stated that surplus paddy from registered farmers is being procured at Rs 3,100 per quintal, inclusive of MSP and input assistance. He added that procurement is conducted subject to prescribed quality checks and verification norms.

Escalating their protest, Opposition members symbolically carried bundles of paddy into the House to underscore farmers’ grievances. The commotion disrupted the scheduled discussion on the motion of thanks to the Governor’s Budget address, raising concerns over the smooth functioning of the session in the coming days.