Bhubaneswar: A Congress delegation, led by Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das, met with Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati today to discuss two critical issues: the suspension of 14 Congress MLAs from the Assembly and the alarming rise in crimes against women in the State.
Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Srikant Jena emphasized that the MLAs were suspended undemocratically while pressing for a House committee to investigate the surge in crimes against women. The Governor assured the delegation that he would look into the matter.
The delegation also urged the Governor to appoint a chairperson for the Odisha State Commission for Women, which has been functioning without a head for several days.
PCC president Bhakta Charan Das expressed concerns that the government’s inaction on addressing crimes against women would perpetuate a negative perception of the state.
“The government neither formed a House Committee nor adopted any alternative. Even a task force or a ministerial-level committee could not be formed to investigate crimes against women. The government wants to ignore a big issue. This perception is not good for the state. We apprised the matter to the government, and he assured us that he would intervene in the matter,” Das said.
Jeypore MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati announced that the Congress party may soon meet with President Droupadi Murmu to seek justice for the suspended legislators, emphasizing that they have the right to raise people’s issues in the Assembly.
The delegation included senior party leader Niranjan Patnaik, Jaydev Jena, Sarat Rout and Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Ram Chandra Kadam and other party MLAs, among others.
