Chaos erupts in Odisha Assembly as Ruling & Oppn Members Clash

The Odisha Assembly witnessed unprecedented chaos on Tuesday as members of the ruling BJP and the Opposition—Congress and BJD—engaged in a heated scuffle that nearly turned into a wrestling match.

- STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE BHUBANESWAR, 11 MARCH:

The turmoil erupted when some Congress MLAs marched towards Minister K C Mahapatra who was replying to a question, prompting BJP legislators to push them back.

The disorderly scenes led to the suspension of veteran Congress MLA Taraprasad Bahinipati for a week.

Despite repeated adjournments by the Speaker, order could not be restored, and the deadlock persisted throughout the day. Later in the evening, Congress MLAs staged a protest near Mahatma Gandhi's statue before announcing their decision to boycott Wednesday's session.

The disruptions were a continuation of the previous two days' protests, during which BJD and Congress legislators occupied the Well of the House and raised slogans against the government.

The BJD has been persistently demanding a statement from Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on BJP MLA Jayanarayan Mishra's remarks, which they claim insulted Odisha's history by calling the Koshal merger a "historical blunder." They insist that the CM must clarify the party's stance and apologize for such divisive comments.