Congress goes all out in Odisha Assembly: Tara Prasad Bahinipati & Ramesh Chandra Jena suspended, what's next?

Bhubaneswar, Mar 26: A day after suspending 12 MLAs of the party, Odisha Assembly Speaker Surama Padhy today suspended Congress MLAs Tara Prasad Bahinipati and Ramesh Chandra Jena for seven days due to alleged misconduct and unruly behavior.

Earlier today, Bahinipati and Jena continued with their protest over women safety issue in the House near the Speaker's podium by beating gongs.

With these suspensions, all members of the Congress, which has 14 MLAs in the House, have been suspended.

Earlier yesterday, Speaker Surama Padhy had suspended 12 Congress MLAs for seven days due to alleged misconduct and unruly behavior.

Following the suspension, a scuffle broke out between senior Congress leaders and police outside the Odisha Assembly last night.

The Congress party staged a protest, vehemently opposing the suspension, which they described as undemocratic and unjust.

The demonstration was led by Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) President Bhakta Charan Das and OPCC in-charge Ajay Kumar Lallu. Senior leaders, including Narasingha Mishra, and former OPCC presidents Niranjan Patnaik and Jayadev Jena, also participated in the protest. The leaders condemned Speaker Surama Padhy’s decision to suspend 12 Congress MLAs for seven days, alleging it was based on false claims of misconduct and unruly behavior.

Ajay Kumar Lallu further criticized the police action, claiming that several senior Congress leaders were manhandled and detained during the protest.

In response to the agitation, police imposed Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNSS) around the Odisha Assembly premises. Reports indicate that some Congress leaders were picked as preventive detaination, said Jagamohan Minna, DCP, Bhubaneswar.