Suspended Odisha Congress MLAs try to enter Assembly forcefully; detained
What's the story
Police in Odisha have detained several suspended Congress MLAs after they clashed with security personnel while trying to enter the assembly.
As per Bhubaneswar DCP Jagmohan Meena, these Congress leaders and activists were detained for breaching a prohibitory order near the assembly building.
The police barred them from entering the assembly since they had been suspended for seven days for indiscipline, but they maintained that they had the right to enter the Assembly grounds, if not the House itself.
Rights violation
Congress leaders claim violation of their rights
The suspended Congress MLAs tried to enter the assembly premises in a bid to dharna near the Mahatma Gandhi statue.
Congress Legislature Party leader Ram Chandra Kadam defended his party members' actions, saying they were well within their rights to enter the assembly premises.
Prevention of entry was a serious violation of privileges granted to elected representatives, Kadam argued.
Twitter Post
MLAs clash with Police
#WATCH | Bhubaneswar, Odisha: Suspended Congress MLAs clash with Police as they try to enter into the Vidhan Sabha premises.
— ANI (@ANI) March 26, 2025
Odisha Assembly Speaker Surama Padhy suspended 12 Congress MLAs yesterday from the House for seven days on charges of "indiscipline, disrespecting the… pic.twitter.com/FRl63PUPNB
Allegations of misconduct
Congress MP alleges manhandling by security personnel
Meanwhile, Congress MP from Koraput, Saptagiri Ulaka, alleged that he was manhandled by security guards when he tried to enter the assembly.
"I will take up the matter with the Lok Sabha Speaker. Have I broken the law? I have been waiting for an entry for about one hour, but they are preventing my entry," Ulaka told reporters at the assembly gate.
Before this current situation, suspended Congress MLAs marched to the Assembly in a demonstration, thumping gongs and cymbals.
Additional altercations
Why they were suspended
Twelve of the 14 Congress MLAs were suspended from the House by Speaker Surama Padhy on Tuesday after they protested the lack of safety for women.
The 12 MLAs who continued to protest until late Tuesday night were expelled by assembly security officers. The police then implemented Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) around the assembly grounds.
Section 163 of the BNSS, 2023, empowers magistrates to issue orders in urgent circumstances of nuisance or danger.