Bhubaneswar, March 22 -- The Budget Session of the Odisha Legislative Assembly witnessed an exchange of words between Congress Legislature Party leader Narasingha Mishra and Ranendra Pratap Swain, Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Empowerment of Odisha over the plight of sharecroppers in the state.

Even though sharecropping has no legal sanctity in Odisha and the system continues with informal arrangements, Ranendra Swain submitted a report on the number of sharecroppers in the Bhadrak district.

This infuriated Narasingha Mishra who slammed the Agriculture Minister and targeted the government for the acute crisis of sharecroppers in the state.

The Congress leader said, "Sharecropping has no legal sanctity as per the Land Rights act. ...