Even though the Odisha Goods and Services Tax Bill 2017 and the Odisha Value Added (Amendment) Bill 2017 were presented in State Assembly on the first day of its special session on Thursday, discussions could not be held in view of many members seeking more time to go through the lines of the bulky Bills before any debate.
After the Bills were presented by Finance Minister Shashi Bhushan Behera, leader of Opposition Narasingha Mihsra expressed unhappiness that the voluminous Bills were issued to members only on Wednesday night and wanted to know how members could put their views without fully knowing the contents of the Bills.
“The GST Bill has 174 sections. Members could have gone through the lines had it been circulated to them much earlier. We are in favour of a discussion, but how can
we do it without knowing the contentsIJ Hence, we should be given more time to go through the Bills and discussions should be postponed to tomorrow,” said Mishra.
Responding to Mishra’s plea, Speaker Pradip Kumar Amat convened a Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting at 11.45 am to decide the time of discussion and adjourned the House till 3 pm.
When the House reassembled, Government Chief Whip Amar Prasad Satpathy presented the BAC’s report, informing the House that it has taken a unanimous decision to hold discussions on the two Bills on Friday. Then, the Speaker adjourned the House for the day.
At the outset, the House had observed a one-minute silence for departed souls of former Minister Durga Shankar Patnaik, former members Arjuna Naik and Satyabhama Jena and martyred Grama Rakshi Jagarao Gomparay.