Bhubaneswar: The suspended Congress MLAs continued protesting on the floor beneath the Speaker’s podium in the Odisha Assembly even as the House was adjourned till Wednesday.
Later, they announced to continue the protest overnight.
In an unprecedented move, Speaker Surama Padhy suspended 12 of total 14 Congress MLA, including the legislature party leader Ramchandra Kadam, for seven days for continuous disruption and unruly behaviour in the House.
The MLAs have been demanding a house committee inquiry into women atrocities, beating gongs and blowing flutes, for the last 12 days.
The 12 Congress MLAs who were suspended are Rama Chandra Kadam (Pottangi), CS Raazen Ekka (Rajagangpur), Dasarathi Gamango (Mohana), Ashok Kumar Das (Basudevpur), Satyajeet Gamango (Gunupur), Sagar Charan Das (Bhawanipatna), Kadraka Appala Swamy (Rayagada), Prafulla Chandra Pradhan (Kandhamal), Pabitra Saunta (Koraput), Sofia Firdous (Barabati-Cuttack), Mangu Khilla (Chitrakonda), and Nilamadhab Hikaka (Bissam Cuttack).
Senior Congress legislators Tara Prasad Bahinipati and Ramesh Jena, however, escaped the suspension.
“I was feeling unwell, so I went home. What happened today is a murder of democracy. Ramesh Jena and I will continue with our protest,” said Bahinipati.
Bhakta Charan Das, President of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee, termed the suspension as a serious offence by the government and the Assembly. “They were only raising their voices against atrocities on women,” he said.
He also accused the BJD for joining voices in support of this demand. “I also appeal to people of the state to support and participate in our plan to gherao the Assembly on March 27,” he added.
Meanwhile, members of the Odisha Youth Congress staged a protest at Lower PMG in Bhubaneswar, announcing plans to burn an effigy of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi.
OTHER REACTIONS
Echoing Bahinipati’s views, Congress MLA Ashok Kumar Das said: “We stick to our demand for a House committee to investigate rising crime against women in the state. This is a larger public issue, but the treasury benches are not accepting our demands. We will continue our protest till our demand is accepted.
Congress MLA Sofia Firdous said: “We accept this suspension, which has been imposed on us for fighting for women’s rights. We are willing to go to any extent to protect the interests of women in the state.”
Congress MLA Dasarathi Gamang asked why the BJP govt was hesitating to set up the committee to look in to growing attrocities on girls and women of Odisha. “Why is the BJP scared? Congress is demanding the constitution of the House committee and whatever has happened is totally unacceptable. We were staging a protest in a unique way to put forth our demands. The suspension is unfortunate,” he said.
He added that the party would intensify the agitation in the coming days.
BJD legislator Arun Sahoo opined that the ruling BJP should have accepted the Congress’s demand and constituted a House committee. “Everything happened due to the inefficiency of the government,” he said.
The BJP, however, said that the Speaker was left with no option but to suspend them for their unruly behaviour. “Despite requests by the speaker and meetings, they did not pay heed. People of Odisha are watching such disruptions,” said Urban development minister Krushna Mahapatra.
BJP MLA Sidhant Mohapatra added, “The ongoing disruption has now entered its seventh day, which is not healthy for democracy. If you deliberately block discussions, it is not right. The government is open to debates, discussions, and deliberations, there is no hesitation…”
