The Odisha Assembly witnessed high drama on Wednesday (March 26) as all 14 Congress MLAs were suspended following protests over crimes against women in the state. A white paper released by the government on the same day revealed an increase in rape cases and a decline in murder incidents in 2024.
Odisha Assembly Speaker Surama Padhy suspended two more Congress MLAs, Taraprasad Bahinpati and Ramesh Jena, for seven days on Wednesday (March 26), citing “indiscipline” in the House, reported PTI.
This followed the suspension of 12 Congress MLAs on Tuesday for similar reasons, effectively barring all 14 party legislators from the Assembly.
The Congress MLAs were protesting in the well of the House, demanding the formation of a House committee to investigate rising crimes against women. The party has been staging demonstrations since March 7, insisting on government accountability.
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Meanwhile, the principal Opposition party, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), staged a walkout demanding increased reservations for Scheduled Tribes (ST), Scheduled Castes (SC), and Other Backward Castes (OBCs) in education and employment.
Suspended MLAs forcibly evicted from AssemblyÂ
Congress legislators who continued their protest despite the suspension were allegedly “forcibly evicted” from the Assembly late Tuesday night. They were dumped near the Congress Bhawan, with some having to spend the night on the streets, claimed party MLA Taraprasad Bahinpati, reported PTI.
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Congress Legislature Party leader Rama Chandra Kadam alleged that the suspended MLAs were denied food, water, and even toilet facilities during their stay in the Assembly. He also claimed to have been injured when a security officer slammed a door on his hand.
“The Congress party is fighting from the streets to the House for investigation of the exploitation and atrocities on women in Odisha. Our 12 MLAs were expelled from the House, and now when state president Bhakta Charan Das Ji and former state president Jaydev Jena Ji were going to meet the MLAs sitting on strike in the Assembly, the police forcibly arrested them,” said Congress leader Ajay Kumar Lallu on X (formerly Twitter) accusing the government of stifling dissent.
Rapes increase, murder cases drop
Amid the political turmoil, the Odisha government released a white paper detailing crime statistics for 2024. According to the report, the state saw an 8% rise in rape cases in 2024, at 3,054. Meanwhile, murder cases dropped by 7.6%, with 1,258 cases in 2024 compared to 1,362 in 2023.
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The white paper also highlighted a decline in left wing extremism (LWE) activities. While nine LWE-related incidents were reported in 2023, only four such cases occurred in 2024. Additionally, six CPI(M) members were neutralised, eight arrested, and four surrendered in police operation, as per PTI.
Cybercrime cases remained a concern, with 2,501 reported incidents involving financial fraud amounting to ₹154.45 crore. The police arrested 581 individuals and managed to recover ₹2.02 crore while freezing ₹8.53 crore in suspected fraudulent transactions.
Political tensions escalateÂ
With all the 14 Congress MLAs now suspended and the government refusing to form a House committee to probe crimes against women, political tensions in Odisha continue to rise. The Opposition has accused the government of avoiding accountability, while the administration maintains that law and order issues are being handled effectively.
(With agency inputs)Â
