Health and Family Welfare Minister Mukesh Mahaling on Monday launched a strong attack on the opposition parties in the Odisha Legislative Assembly for repeatedly stalling proceedings and demanding his resignation over the recent SCB Medical College and Hospital incident.
Speaking during the discussion on the departmental expenditure demands, Mahaling criticised the opposition for making the House non-functional for the past nine days. He noted that despite the government outlining various measures taken post-incident, the opposition refused to allow the House to function or participate in debates.
“The opposition is continuously disrupting the House citing the SCB accident. As the departmental minister, I have provided detailed information on the steps taken by the government, yet they are not allowing the House to run and are not coming forward for discussion. They should have brought an adjournment motion for discussion. Such ruckus and absence from the House is unfortunate and not in line with healthy parliamentary traditions,” Mahaling said.
He recalled that when BJP was in the opposition, they raised several issues which were resolved through all-party meetings. “The opposition did not adopt such stubborn policies then,” he added.
The Minister took a swipe at BJD leader Naveen Patnaik, questioning how many ministers’ resignations he had accepted during his 24 years in power. “I do not wish to go into the details of the Health Minister whose resignation he is referring to,” Mahaling remarked, accusing Patnaik of losing credibility with baseless statements.
Mahaling highlighted the government’s proactive measures following the incident. He pointed out that fire safety arrangements were neglected for the past 24 years with no budget provisions. The new government has allocated ₹320 crore in 2025-26 and made similar provisions for 2026-27 to strengthen fire safety.
The Health Department’s budget demand of ₹23,182.14 crore was passed in the House after the Minister’s reply. BJP MLAs actively participated in the discussion, raising various points regarding the government’s health initiatives.
On the broader health sector, Mahaling stated that Odisha’s health budget ranks among the top five states in the country. The government is focusing on expanding infrastructure, including more ICUs, new medical colleges, and development of Ayurvedic, Homeopathic, and government hospitals.
Under the Chief Minister’s Health Services Mission (Health Infrastructure), significant redevelopment is planned for premier institutions like SCB in Cuttack and VIMSAR in Burla. The 2026-27 budget proposes ₹476.73 crore for fire safety and solar energy installations across health institutions.
The government also plans to add 5,000 IPD beds across medical colleges, district headquarters, and community health centres, with an additional 1,800 beds at SCB Medical College and Hospital.
BJP legislators including Ira Shish Acharya, Sanatan Bijuli, Dushmanta Swain, Fakir Mohan Naik, Sitanshu Mohapatra, Rupu Bhatra, Nilamali Bishoi, Sindhanta Mohapatra, Raghunath Jagdala, and Santosh Khatua participated in the debate.
