BHUBANESWAR: A Congress protest against the suspension of party MLAs turned violent on Wednesday as party workers clashed with police personnel outside the Odisha Assembly.
The incident occurred around 10.30 am when Congress workers and MLAs attempted to breach Gate No. 3 of the assembly, leading to a 45-minute confrontation with law enforcement. The Congress workers, including women, hoodwinked police and managed to reach the gate in violation of prohibitory orders running from the Mahatma Gandhi Marg.
Police were forced to detain several protesters and transport them away from the scene. They struggled to contain the situation without using force as many Congress women laid siege to the ground while there were not enough women cops to lift them.
During the altercation, Congress workers were seen heckling Additional Commissioner of Police Narasingha Bhol. Party MLA Ramesh Jena confronted the police over being denied entry to the assembly premises. Congress MP Satpagiri Ulaka was also prevented from entering.
“As an MP, I have a right to enter the assembly. I don’t understand under what law they prevented me from entering the premises,” Ulaka said.
Adding to the chaos, BJD MLAs emerged from within the assembly carrying banners and posters, forcefully opening the gate to rally for their demand of a 27% quota for backward classes in govt jobs and educational institutions.
Congress Legislature Party Leader Rama Chandra Kadam condemned the police response as excessive, adding, “We only wanted to stage a peaceful protest near Mahatma Gandhi’s statue after our suspension.”
Inside the assembly, Speaker Surama Padhy approved a motion to suspend two more Congress MLAs – Tara Prasad Bahinipati and Ramesh Jena – for beating cymbals inside the house. This follows Tuesday’s suspension of 12 other Congress MLAs.
DCP Jagmohan Meena said the suspended MLAs and party workers were detained for violating prohibitory orders around the assembly premises.
Several BJD MLAs, including Prasanna Acharya and Pramila Mallik, criticised the suspensions as “too harsh.”
BJD MLA Arun Sahoo suggested the govt should have addressed Congress’s demand for a house committee on crimes against women instead of allowing the situation to escalate. BJP MLAs Tankadhar Tripathy, Babu Singh and Sanatan Bijuli justified the suspension.
The Congress party has announced plans to gherao the assembly on Thursday in protest against the govt’s indifference towards their demand for a house committee to probe rising crimes against women and “partial action” against its MLAs.