Bhubaneswar: Saptagiri Ulaka, the lone Congress MP from Odisha, on Tuesday said that he would raise the suspension of all 14 MLAs of his party from Odisha Legislative Assembly in Parliament.
“This is extremely unfortunate. The BJP is attempting to implement the same model that Narendra Modi followed in Gujarat during his tenure as Chief Minister. Today, I was prevented from entering the Assembly premises, manhandled and even arrested. We will take to the streets in protest. I will raise this issue in Parliament by moving a privilege motion,” he told reporters.
He added Congress would hit the streets and intensify the agitation in the coming days.
Speaker Surama Padhy suspended 12 Congress MLAs on Tuesday and the remaining two legislators – Tara Prasad Bahinipati and Ramesh Chandra Jena – of the party on Wednesday as they continued to disrupt the question hour by beating gongs and shouting slogans.
Earlier in the day, the suspended Congress lawmakers along with other party leaders scuffled with police outside the Assembly as they tried to enter the premises. They wanted to sit on a dharna near the Mahatma Gandhi statue on the House premises but were pushed away. Ulaka and other MLAs were also picked up by the police from the Assembly gate during the protest.
This was remnants of Tuesday night action when the suspended MLAs were evicted by the assembly security officials at around 2 am while staging an overnight dharna near the Speaker’s podium. Police later imposed section 163 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) around the assembly premises.
Also Read: ‘Denied Toilet Access, Manhandled’: High Drama In Odisha Assembly & Outside
The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MLAs also clashed with security officials as they tried to stage a protest near the Ambedkar statue, demanding reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in government jobs and educational institutions.
