Bhubaneswar: A scuffle broke out between members of Odisha unit of Mahila Congress and police on Wednesday in Bhubaneswar when the women activists were stopped from marching towards Naveen Niwas to gherao Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s residence.
The Mahila Congress members were protesting rising cases of violence against women in the state.
In a rally led by All India Mahila Congress president Alka Lamba and Odisha Mahila Congress president Minakshi Bahinipati, the protesters were marching towards Naveen Niwas when they were stopped by police. The Congress members reportedly tried to remove the police barricades leading to a scuffle with police.
Talking to media before getting into the police van, Lamba said, “We wanted to meet the CM but we were stopped from going to Naveen Niwas. Its murder of democracy,” and added that Naveen Patnaik’s Mission Shakti is a failure.
Earlier in the day, before starting the protest march, more than 3,000 Congress women members from across the state had gathered in front of the state party headquarters for the Mahila Samavesh. The Congress leaders had declared that in the forthcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, 50 per cent of party tickets will go to women in the state.
Lamba had said that based on the guru mantra imparted by Rahul Gandhi to party workers during Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, the Odisha Mahila Congress will plan out strategies for women voters ahead of the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
OPCC president Sarat Pattanayak and Bahinipati had on Tuesday declared that the Odisha Mahila Congress will gherao the CM’s residence protesting against increasing crime against women in Odisha and the deteriorating health, education and employment opportunities in the state.
Addressing a press conference, the Congress leaders alleged that the BJD government is alluring women of the state through various schemes only to get their votes. However, the core issues of women remain unresolved.
