Odisha Assembly News Live Updates: BJD MLAs walk out of assembly session, demand speaker’s statement on Congress MLAs’ suspension

​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.

Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Rama Chandra Kadam alleged that the suspended MLAs were denied basic necessities, including food, water, and toilet facilities, during their stay in the Assembly. Kadam also sustained a finger injury when a security personnel accidentally shut a door on his hand on Tuesday night.

The Congress legislators were suspended for seven days on Tuesday for alleged 'indiscipline' after they demanded the formation of a House Committee to probe the rising crimes against women in the state following the BJP’s ascent to power in June last year.

As many as 12 out of 14 Congress MLAs were suspended from the Odisha assembly for a week on Tuesday for disrupting proceedings. The suspension was announced by Speaker Surama Padhy, excluding Tara Prasad Bahinipati and Ramesh Jena, who were not present during the post-lunch session. Bahinipati had previously faced a seven-day suspension on March 11 for similar conduct.

Both the Congress and BJD claimed that the BJP-led state government took retaliatory action in response to the recent suspension of 18 BJP legislators in Congress-ruled Karnataka for six months. They argued that the Odisha government’s move was politically motivated rather than a disciplinary measure.

The suspension was triggered by Congress MLAs shouting slogans in the well of the House, demanding the formation of a House committee to investigate the "rising" incidents of crimes against women. Congress members had been staging protests on the same issue since March 7, when the assembly reconvened for the second phase of the budget session.

Ruling BJP leaders defended Speaker Padhy’s decision, describing it as a "last resort" due to the repeated disruption of proceedings. Housing and Urban Development Minister Krushna Chandra Mahapatra stated that the speaker had made multiple efforts to restore normalcy through all-party meetings and outreach to the opposition, but Congress MLAs continued to obstruct the House.

Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das condemned the suspension, accusing the BJP of suppressing the opposition’s voice. He warned that the action would not deter Congress from highlighting the "rising rapes and crimes against women" and announced plans to gherao the assembly on March 27.

BJD MLA Arun Sahoo criticized the BJP’s move, calling it an act of political revenge over the Karnataka suspensions. While he disagreed with the Congress's disruptive protests, he argued that the BJP government could have conceded to the opposition's demand for a House committee to prevent the situation from escalating.