Bhubaneswar: Congress legislature party leader Rama Chandra Kadam urged chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi to convene a special session of the state assembly to discuss the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam.
The demand came a day after opposition leader in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge sought a special Parliament session on the same issue through letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In separate letters addressed to Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati and speaker Surama Padhy, Kadam emphasised the need for an immediate discussion, noting that the attack claimed two lives connected to Odisha. One victim was from Balasore, while the other, though currently residing in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, was born and raised in Balangir.
“The special session would provide an opportunity for members to express their condolences and demonstrate solidarity with the victims’ families,” Kadam said. He added that such a session would reinforce the message that fight against terrorism transcends political boundaries.
Kadam, when contacted, said the Vidhan Sabha session will also give a scope to know about the status of Pakistani nationals staying in the state and illegal infiltrators from other states, who have been staying in Odisha. “There is no politics in this move. We understand the gravity of the situation,” he said.
Responding to the Congress demand, BJP spokesperson Dilip Mohanty said, “The govt at the Centre and in state will take appropriate decisions on the demand for special sessions of Parliament and Vidhan Sabha.” “The issue being national, there is not much relevance of special Vidhan Sabha session. However, all parties and individual citizens in India are united in the fight against terror,” he said.