Bhubaneswar, Dec 10 (Reporter) Odisha Assembly on Tuesday witnessed a heated exchange of words between the opposition and Treasury bench members during Zero Hour over non-payment of salary to thousands of Mission Shakti support staff across the state for the last eight months. While the opposition BJD members said the government which came to power promising to empower women was not sensitive to their plight and not considering paying salary to Mission Shakti Support Staff. The Treasury bench members said the BJD government during its 24 years of rule did nothing for the empowerment of women. The BJD, they said, utilised women as their vote bank. The support staff did not get salary for eight months as the then BJD government did not renew their agreement which expired in April 2024. The Congress members, while blaming the previous government for the situation, demanded the BJP regiime find a solution to the problem and pay salary to the support staff. Thousands of women engaged as Bank Mitras, Logistic Service Providers (LSP), Community Resource Persons(CRP)), Krushi Mitra, Prani Mitra, and Master Bookkeeper (MBK) have been on strike in front of the state Assembly since Monday demanding payment of their salary. They have not been paid a salary for the last eight months. Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition Naveen Patnaik, speaking to newspersons outside the Assembly on Tuesday, accused the Odisha government of |"conspiring" to stop the salaries of agitating women. Patnaik said “I strongly condemn this. As you know more than 70 lakh women are in the Mission Shakti. We in the Biju Janata Dal have always supported Mission Shakti women. We will continue to support them,” he said. Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Dhruba Charan Sahu, Ranendra Pratap swain, Sarada Prasad Jena AND Niranjan Pujari (all BJD) said it was a "conspiracy" by the government to close the Mission Shakti programme in the state. Sahu said the service of Mission Shakti support staff could not be extended as the model code of conduct was in force for the general elections, 2024. The BJD members said over 60,000 women braving cold winter nights and drizzles have been on strike since Monday in front of the state Assembly demanding their salary. The government, they said, should be sensitive to their demand and pay them their salary. Sarada Prasad Jena said it is a shame for the state and urged the Speaker to direct the government to pay them salary. Niranjan Pujari (BJD) said the government should pay salary to support staff at par with other states and said if the government did not want to pay them salary they should told the house. Congress legislature Party Leader Rama Chandra Kadam. Asok Das, and Sofia Firdos urged the government to find a solution and pay them salary. Tankadhar Tripathy, Sanatan Bijuli, Om Prakash Mishra, Upasana Mohapatra and Irasish Acharya (All BJP) said the BJD government was responsible for the non-payment of salary to the support staff. The BJD government did not renew the agreement for vote bank politics and now spreading misinformation and shedding crocodile tears. Hindi The BJD government in the name of empowering women engaged them in party activities.The money earmarked for empowering women was used for promoting the party, and now they are using women as a weapon and spreading misinformation to take political mileage,Tripathy said. He said the BJD should beg an apology to the women of the state for betraying them...////...