Bhubaneswar, March 19 -- The Odisha Assembly witnessed sharp exchanges on Thursday as the Opposition demanded the resignation of the Health Minister Mukesh Mahaling over the recent SCB fire tragedy which claimed 12 lives, while BJP legislators accused the Opposition of disrupting proceedings for political reasons.

Opposition chief whip Pramila Mallik questioned the moral responsibility of the Health Minister and called for his immediate resignation. She said the Minister should step down to uphold ethical standards, alleging that the ruling party had earlier demanded similar accountability when it was in the Opposition.

Citing a past incident of a fire in a private hospital, Mallik said the then Health Minister had resigned, setting a p...