Overview
- Assembly proceedings broke down again as Opposition MLAs in black T‑shirts entered the Well, shouted slogans, and forced repeated adjournments before staging a walkout.
- BJD and Congress insisted Health Minister Dr. Mukesh Mahaling resign on moral grounds over the fire in the SCB trauma ICU and said their protest will continue until he steps down.
- The ruling BJP argued a resignation will not fix safety failures and cited a retired‑judge probe, a fact‑finding team, four suspensions with transfers, and Rs 25 lakh for each bereaved family.
- The BJD lodged a criminal negligence complaint at Cuttack’s Mangalabag police station naming Mahaling and former SCB superintendent Dr. Gautam Satapathy and pressed for arrests of senior hospital staff.
- The March 16 fire at SCB Medical College in Cuttack killed at least 12 patients and injured others, and the standoff has sidelined routine House work and, by the government’s count, burned through crores in session costs.