The first day of the monsoon session, Tuesday, of the Odisha State Assembly kicked off with the Congress party submitting a notice for a no-confidence motion against the ruling BJP government, led by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi. The motion was signed by 14 Congress MLAs and the lone CPI(M) legislator.
Senior Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati confirmed the submission, stating that the notice had been handed over to the Speaker for approval, requesting permission to move forward with the motion.
The Congress members also attempted to meet Odisha’s Leader of Opposition and former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who is also the BJD president, to seek the party’s support for the motion. However, they were unable to meet him. The 147-member Assembly includes the BJP with 78 seats, while the BJD has 50.
Congress MLA Sofia Firdous stated that the motion reflected the growing dissatisfaction among the people of Odisha with the BJP government, explaining the reason behind the motion. Criticizing the government, she said the government failed to address key issues such as rising unemployment, corruption, lack of development, and increasing crimes against women in the state.
She further mentioned that the government seemed to be more focused on advertising campaigns than on governance, making the no-confidence motion necessary. Firdous also urged Speaker Surama Padhy to accept the motion, asserting that it complied with the rules of procedure and had been signed by the required number of MLAs.
Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Rama Chandra Kadam emphasized that the motion would move forward with or without BJD’s support, stating that Congress was ready to back the BJD had they brought forward the motion. Therefore, Congress awaited a response from the ruling party.
As of now, the BJD has not officially declared its stance on the no-confidence motion. BJD MLA Sarada Prasanna Jena, however, reiterated that the party would continue to raise issues that affect the welfare of the people of Odisha. He stressed that the BJD remained united under the leadership of Naveen Patnaik.
The BJP, on the other hand, ridiculed Congress’s move. Senior BJP leader Jayanarayan Mishra called it a “strategic move” by Congress to improve its position within the Assembly, suggesting that the motion had no real chance of succeeding.
BJP MLA Babu Singh mocked Congress for attempting the motion despite having only a fraction of the total seats in the House. Mishra added that this move was more about Congress trying to secure the “silver medal” in the eyes of the public.
The monsoon session of the Assembly is set to conclude on 25th September 2025.
