Governor’s Address Marks Opening of Sixth Session of 17th Assembly

Bhubaneswar: The sixth session of the 17th Odisha State Legislative Assembly began on Tuesday with the House paying solemn tributes to former and sitting members who passed away recently.

The session commenced with an address by Governor Dr. Hari Babu Kambhampati, attended by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik, and other members of the House.

Governor Extends New Year Greetings

In his address, the Governor extended New Year greetings to all members of the Assembly and to the people of Odisha, while outlining the importance of the Budget Session.

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House Pays Tribute to Departed Leaders

The Governor offered condolences on the demise of Rajendra Dholakia, sitting member and former minister; Ananta Das, former minister; and Bibhuti Bhusan Singh Mardaraj, former Deputy Speaker. Tributes were also paid to former members Debaraj Seth, Devendra Sharma, Prasanna Kumar Patanayak, Karendra Majhi, Niranjan Hembram, Prafulla Kumar Bhanj, Mohammad Rafique, George Tirkey, Hemendra Prasad Mahapatra and Krushna Chandra Mallick.

Condolences were further extended to former Odisha Police personnel Lokanath Sabar, Laxman Majhi and Saroj Kumar Pradhan.

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Tribute to Former Union Minister Kanhu Charan Lenka

The House also remembered Kanhu Charan Lenka, former Rajya Sabha member from Odisha and ex-Union Minister, along with former members Kulamani Rout, Akshaya Acharya, Sanchita Mohanty and Dr Raseswari Panigrahi.

“The House may convey our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families of the departed souls,” the Governor said, as members stood in silence to honour their memory.