Opposition plays gongs, raises slogans in Odisha Assembly; House adjourned 5 times till 4 pm

As soon as the House assembled for the day, BJD and Congress members trooped into the well with placards, played musical instruments, raised slogans, alleging that the BJP government has failed to ensure safety of women and justice to the ST, SC and OBC people.

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Assembly witnessed chaos on Tuesday as opposition Congress and BJD members played gongs and raised slogans while protesting over various issues, forcing Speaker Surama Padhy to adjourn the proceedings five times till 4 pm.

With proceedings of the assembly frequently hit by the ruckus, Deputy Speaker Bhabani Shankar Bhoi convened an all-party meeting to resolve the matter.

However, the meeting did not yield any result as the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) refused to change its decision and made it clear that it would not cooperate till a House Committee was formed to inquire into all the crimes against women that took place in the state since June 2024 when the BJP came to power.

The BJD, on the other hand, protested the alleged failure of the state government to ensure safety of women and justice to the ST, SC and OBC people.

The frequent agitation by the opposition members has led to the proceeding remaining adjourned till 4 pm on all working days since March 18.

“The state has been spending crores of rupees for the Assembly to function, but the opposition stalls it on some plea or other,” said BJP member Babu Singh.

As soon as the House assembled for the day, BJD and Congress members trooped into the well with placards, played musical instruments and raised anti-government slogans.

While the BJD members raised slogans demanding proportionate reservation for ST, SC and OBC students in educational institutions and jobs, Congress MLAs demanded formation of a House Committee to inquire into the incidents of violence against women that took place during the last nine months.

The Congress members beat gongs and cymbals, and played flutes causing huge noise in the House. They had done the same earlier also.

Speaker Padhy appealed to the agitating members to return to their seats, but it had no impact.

“Yesterday, the deputy speaker in a ruling has instructed that the members cannot bring musical instruments to the House. However, you (Congress MLAs) are playing them today. This is not acceptable,” she said.

Amid the chaos, the Speaker adjourned the House five times till 4 pm.

The House could transact business barely for two to three minutes.

The Congress MALs have been agitating in the Assembly over the alleged rise in the crimes against women since the beginning of the second phase of the Budget Session on March 7.

One of the senior party MLAs was also suspended for seven days over the issue while staging agitation in the assembly.

The Congress members also staged a sit-in near the Mahatma Gandhi statue on the Assembly premises while the BJD legislators assembled near the entry gate and shouted slogans holding placards demanding reservation for ST, SC and OBC students in educational institutions.