Key Points
Congress legislators disrupt Assembly proceedings with musical instruments
Demands formation of House committee on women's safety
Speaker adjourns House multiple times
Protest against alleged government inaction
As soon as the House proceedings commenced on Friday, Congress legislators wearing black clothes gathered near the Speaker's podium and started holding protests in the Assembly by playing various traditional musical instruments, like bells, flutes, clarinet, cymbals etc.
The Congress legislators also later marched around the Assembly building playing the instruments while protesting against the Odisha government's alleged inaction over atrocities on women in the state.
Amid the din, the House was adjourned multiple times by Speaker Surama Padhy on Friday. She also called an all-party meeting for discussions to bring normalcy in the House, but it failed to resolve the deadlock.
The House was later adjourned till 4 pm by Speaker Padhy.
"Today, our mothers, sisters and female students in the state are not safe. We have been protesting for the last 10 days in the House. Our legislator was unjustifiably suspended from the House for protesting. The Odisha government has turned deaf, dumb and blind. Our protest will continue till the government forms a House committee on women's safety," said Rama Chandra Kadam, the Congress' Legislative party leader.
Kadam also raised questions over the suspension of Congress MLA, Tara Prasad Bahinipati, from the Assembly for seven days following a scuffle inside the House on March 11.
He said the Odisha government unjustifiably only suspended the Congress leader while not taking any action against ruling BJP members and a minister for the scuffle despite there being video footage as evidence.
The Congress CLP leader alleged that the government was trying to suppress the voice of the party through the suspension.
The Congress has announced that it will stage a gherao of the Odisha Assembly on March 27 over the issue of women's safety and security.
