BHUBANESWAR: Following the suspension of 12 Congress MLAs from the Odisha Assembly on Tuesday, two more legislators were debarred on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, protesting legislators were engaged in a scuffle against security forces who did not allow them to enter the Assembly premises.
The two MLAs, Tara Prasad Bahinipati and Ramesh Chandra Jena, were suspended by Speaker Surama Padhy for seven days for creating disturbances in the House during the question hour. Both Bahinipati and Jena beat gongs and shouted slogans during the question hour despite repeated requests to relent from the Speaker.
A motion moved by government chief whip Saroj Pradhan for the suspension of the two Congress MLAs was passed in the House. However, the two legislators continued protesting in the well of the House after their suspension.
Meanwhile, the overnight dharna by the suspended MLAs in the well of the House had taken a turn when they were evicted by the Assembly marshall and police during the early hours of Wednesday.
The legislators along with party workers then continued the dharna on the road near the Assembly. Many of them slept by the roadside.
Jeypore MLA Bahinipati even had a team of doctors attending to him.
As the day began, Congress leaders gathered and a free for all continued in front of the Assembly gate while the party MLAs made another attempt to enter the premises.
They wanted to enter the premises to sit on a dharna near the Mahatma Gandhi statue on the House premises but the police pushed them away.
Congress MP Saptagiri Ulaka and other MLAs were picked up by the police while trying to enter the Assembly.
Meanwhile, members of the BJD also had a scuffle with the security forces near the gate when they were not allowed to protest near the statue of Ambedkar demanding a caste-based census.
Later security forces opened the gate to allow the BJD members inside the premises. The BJD members participated in the proceedings of the House after the question hour.
Earlier, the BJD members had walked out from the House in protest against the suspension of the 12 Congress MLAs.
Senior BJD leader Arun Sahoo protested the eviction of the Congress MLAs from the well of the House terming it authoritarian.
Opposition chief whip Pramila Mallick strongly condemned the incident and alleged that the BJP government in the state is trying to intimidate the Opposition and suppress democracy.
Congress MP Ulaka also condemned the incident describing it as highly authoritarian.
