High drama unfolds in Odisha assembly as suspended Cong MLAs refuse to leave House

    Bhubaneswar, Mar 25 (PTI) The Odisha assembly on Tuesday witnessed high drama, after 12 suspended Congress MLAs refused to vacate the Well of the House, as they staged a demonstration, demanding formation of a committee to inquire into crimes against women during the eight-month BJP rule in the state.
    Speaker Surama Padhy earlier in the afternoon announced the suspension of the 12 MLAs, including Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Rama Chandra Kadam, for seven days over “indiscipline” in the House.
    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 member Taraprasad Bahinipati, who was one of the two party MLAs to have escaped the suspension, asserted: “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 also 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.
    As soon as Padhy announced the decision, Congress members created a ruckus in the assembly, playing gongs as a mark of protest. They also chanted ‘Ram dhuns’ in the House and continued to stage a dharna in the Well.
    The action came as Congress MLAs have been staging protests in various manners in the assembly such as blowing whistles, flutes and playing gongs and cymbals, while pressing for their demand for a House Committee formation. The assembly has not been able to function properly since the beginning of the second phase of the budget session on March 7.
    Amid the pandemonium on Tuesday, Speaker Padhy adjourned the proceedings at least 14 times, on seven occasions before lunch and as many times after it reassembled at 4 pm.
    While the Congress members played gongs and blew flutes during the day, the BJD members shouted slogans, demanding proportionate reservation 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.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)