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Odisha legislative assembly speaker Surama Padhy suspended 12 Congress MLAs on the charges of "indiscipline, disrespecting the Chair and violating rules" as they protested inside the well of the assembly.
The Youth Congress workers staged a protest against the issue in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday in front of the Congress Bhavan. Senior Congress leaders such as state president Bhakta Charan Das, Odisha in-charge Ajay Kumar Lallu and others also joined the protest. They claimed that they were not allowed to enter the assembly and meet the suspended MLAs. Odisha Congress President Bhakta Charan Das stated that the ex-MLAs can go till the lobby of the assembly even at any time and added that there should be any reason to stop them. Das further asserted that they are not 'criminals'. "... Ex-MLAs can go till the lobby of the assembly at any time. We are not criminals... There should be some reason to stop us... Shouldn't we go inside to meet our MLAs?...", Bhakta Charan Das said while speaking to the reporters. Odisha Congress in-charge Ajay Kumar Lallu launched a scathing attack on the Odisha government over the issue and said that the suspension of the MLAs is totally undemocratic. He added that if the MLAs are seeking answers to their problems, why is the government afraid? "When did talking about women's safety become a crime in the country... More than 64000 women are missing in Odisha. Gangrapes are happening every day... If elected MLAs seek answers on these issues from the government, what is the government afraid of?... Suspending 12 of our MLAs is undemocratic. We will not sit quietly. We will gherao the assembly and protest on 27 March..." After being suspended by the Odisha assembly speaker, the 12 suspended Congress MLAs slept in the well itself and protested against their suspension. (ANI)
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