Government chief whip Prashanta Muduli brought a motion to adjourn the House sine die for the remaining period of the session.

While the BJP members wanted to speak on the motion, Speaker Pramila Mallik did not allow them. After they staged a walk-out in protest, the Speaker announced that the Assembly was adjourned sine die.

The budget session, which began on February 5, was scheduled to conclude on February 13. It was supposed to transact business on seven working days.

Finance Minister Bikram Keshari Arukha tabled Rs 1.18 lakh crore vote on account for the first four months of financial year 2024-25 in the Assembly on Thursday. The Appropriation Bill was passed in the Assembly on Friday.

As elections to the state Assembly and Lok Sabha are likely to be held soon, this was considered as the last session of the present Assembly.

Several senior leaders including Narasingha Mishra and Suresh Routray bid farewell to the Assembly as they had announced retirement and not to contest elections.

Labour and Employees’ State Insurance Minister Sarada Prasad Nayak gave this information while answering a question of BJP MLA Kusum Tete in the House.

Similarly, as many as 5,440 migrant labourers from Odisha have been rescued from various states on the basis of 322 complaints since 2018, the Minister said.

He said that in case of death or injuries at workplace, the families of the migrant labourers are eligible for compensation under Odisha Building and Construction Workers Welfare Board and Employees’ Compensation Act.

The state government has provided compensation to the tune of Rs 64,24,807 in this regard, the Minister said.

To another query of Tete, the Minister said that as many as 1,231 contractors have been issued licences in 2023 to facilitate the migration of altogether 81,232 labourers from the state to outside for jobs.

“Communal harmony has been maintained. There was no significant law and order incident on the students, services, industrial, labour and agrarian front. The Maoist scenario in the state has also shown remarkable improvement,” said Naveen in reply on Home and GA&PG demand in the Assembly.

Stating that more than 5,000 candidates have been appointed in Odisha Police and the Prisons Organisation this year, he said clearance has been given to fill up more than 3,300 posts in police and almost a thousand in prisons and fire services.

Under 5T charter, Odisha Police launched Monitoring of Atrocity, National Commission Cases and Assistance to Victims (MANAV) portal in August 2023 to expedite the investigation cases under SC and ST Prevention of Atrocity Act and timely delivery of compensation to the victims, he added.

“We have zero tolerance towards crime and particularly crime against women. We have ensured free, fair, and impartial investigation. However, I am pained to see politicisation of very sensitive cases for narrow vested interests. This is an injustice to the victims of the case, to the committed police persons who work day and night and also to the people of Odisha. Even a lady officer on duty was physically assaulted. This cannot be tolerated in a civilised society,” the chief minister said.