Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Assembly on Tuesday experienced chaotic scenes as 12 suspended Congress MLAs defied orders to vacate the Well of the House. The suspended MLAs staged a protest demanding the formation of a committee to investigate crimes against women during the eight-month rule of the BJP in the state. 

Speaker Surama Padhy announced the suspension of the 12 MLAs, including Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Rama Chandra Kadam, citing "indiscipline" in the House. The suspension is set to last for seven days.

As the suspended legislators refused to leave, Speaker Padhy, before adjourning the House for the day, asked the marshals to convince the agitating members to vacate the Well.

Senior Congress leader Taraprasad Bahinipati, one of the two Congress MLAs who avoided suspension, stated, “We have decided to spend the night in the Well of the House and continue to demand formation of the committee. Let them throw us out by using marshals or the police. We are not scared”.

The suspended MLAs include Sagar Charan Das, Mangu Khilla, Satyajeet Gomango, Ashok Kumar Das, Dasarathi Gamango, and Sofia Firdous. Two other Congress MLAs – Taraprasad Bahinipati and Ramesh Jena – were, however, not suspended as they were not present in the House when the announcement was being made. Bahinipati was earlier suspended for seven working days on similar grounds on March 11.

Following the suspension announcement, Congress members disrupted proceedings, playing gongs and chanting 'Ram dhuns' in protest. They have been consistently staging various demonstrations since the second phase of the budget session began on March 7, using whistles, flutes, and cymbals to express their demands.

Speaker Padhy adjourned the proceedings at least 14 times on Tuesday — seven times before lunch and seven times post-reassembly at 4 pm. While Congress members intensified their protest with gongs and flutes, BJD members demanded proportionate reservations for ST, SC, and OBC candidates in education and jobs.

Even the all-party meeting convened by Deputy Speaker Bhabani Shankar Bhoi failed to yield any result, as the din continued in the House.

Meanwhile, three senior BJD members - Opposition Chief Whip Pramila Mallik, eight-time MLA R P Swain and former minister Ganeswar Behera – urged the Speaker to reconsider the decision of suspension of MLAs.

“We urge the Speaker to give it a thought as to why such an incident took place. It is high time that the chief minister intervenes and resolves the issue,” Behera told reporters outside the House.

Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das also criticised the decision, and demanded immediate withdrawal of the suspension order.

While justifying the act of playing gongs in the assembly, Das said: "What is wrong in it? This is done in temples and the assembly is also a temple of democracy. It was a means to awaken the government, which remained silent on the rise of crimes against women.”

Das also said the Congress would not succumb to such actions. “We will play gongs across Odisha in order to make the government aware to form a House Committee to inquire into crimes against women,” he asserted.

CLP leader Rama Chandra Kadam said the party has tried its best to make the government sensitive towards cases of atrocities on women. “What is wrong in forming a House Committee? The all-party members will inquiry into the matter and make suggestions,” Kadam said.

PTI