Senior Congress leaders engage in scuffle with cops at Assembly gate, held

The OPCC chief said the police arrested them in an undemocratic manner though they did not break any law and only four members were present in front of the Assembly gate.

While congress MLAs protest inside the assembly, senior leaders and party members protest outside the assembly premises against suspension of party legislatures in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday late evening. Photo | Debadatta Mallick, EPS

BHUBANESWAR: The suspension of 12 party MLAs from the House spilled onto the streets on Tuesday evening when Congress leaders and activists reached the entrance of the State Assembly where they had a scuffle with the cops.

Senior Congress leaders including OPCC chief Bhakta Charan Das, former ministers Niranjan Patnaik, Narasingha Mishra, Jayadev Jena and Sarat Rout who wanted to meet the suspended legislators were later picked up by the police and removed from the restricted zone.

“The pity is that the five of us who wanted to meet our MLAs are all former ministers and entitled to enter the Assembly. But the manner in which the government used force against us is utterly pathetic,” Das said.

Earlier, youth Congress members had been arrested as they managed to sneak into Sachivalaya Marg in front of the State Assembly where prohibitory orders were already in force due to the Assembly in session.

The OPCC chief said the police arrested them in an undemocratic manner though they did not break any law and only four members were present in front of the Assembly gate.

Earlier, youth Congress activists burnt the effigy of the BJP government. The activists along with five senior leaders gave a slip to the police and reached the entrance gate of the Assembly in a bid to meet the suspended MLAs who continued their protest by spending the night in the well of the House.

The Congress activists reached the entrance gate in vehicles along with the senior leaders where section 163 of BNSS was in force in view of the ongoing budget session of the Assembly. Interestingly, the intelligence wing of the state police had little clue of the movement of the Congress leaders and the activists who took different routes to reach near the State Assembly where the on-duty cops prevented them.

Das said the Congress will not be deterred by the use of police force by the BJP government and continue its protest against the growing incidence of crime and violence against women in the state. The grand old party had earlier given a call for Assembly gherao on March 27.