History awaits the Odisha Legislative Assembly (OLA) as President Droupadi Murmu is all set to address the first day of the winter session of the House, commencing from Thursday.
This will be the first time a sitting President of India will speak to the legislators from the podium of the Speaker, making it a momentous occasion.
President Murmu is scheduled to arrive at Bhubaneswar at 2 pm and will directly proceed to Raj Bhawan, where she will inaugurate the new Kalinga Atithi Nivas and attend a luncheon hosted at the venue.
She will arrive at the Assembly at 4:20 pm and address the House at 4:30 pm. The President will spend nearly 1 hour and 10 minutes in the Assembly until 5:30 pm, during which she is expected to visit Room No 11, the chamber she was allotted during her tenure as minister of state for Commerce and Transport from March 6, 2000, to August 6, 2002, and Fisheries and Animal Resources Development from August 6, 2002, to May 16, 2004, in the BJD-BJP coalition government.
The Vidhan Sabha has been spruced up for the President’s visit and the room where she worked as a minister has been renovated. Sources in the Assembly said that she will spend some time in the room and meet the staff who worked in her office.
Governor Dr Hari Babu Kambhampati will host a dinner for the President at Raj Bhavan, which will be attended by Speaker Surama Padhy, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, his council of ministers, all MLAs, and senior government officials, including the chief secretary and director general of police.
Describing Murmu’s visit to Vidhan Sabha as momentous, Speaker Padhy said it will be a proud moment for the state and the MLAs who worked with her and for the new members who will listen to the President addressing the House for the first time.
A two-time MLA from Rairangpur Assembly constituency of Mayurbhanj district, Murmu was first elected to the Assembly on a BJP ticket in 2000 and was a minister in the Naveen Patnaik-led government. She retained the seat in the 2004 election.
The winter session will continue till December 31 and have 29 sitting days. The first supplementary budget for 2025-26 will be presented by Chief Minister Majhi on November 28. Supplementary budgets of different departments will be discussed from December 4 to 6.
