Bhubaneswar: Tensions flared on Thursday as Congress workers clashed with police during a protest rally in the Lower PMG area, highlighting concerns over women’s safety in Odisha. The confrontation turned violent, leaving several Congress activists and journalists injured amid the chaos.
The skirmish erupted when police intervened to halt the Congress workers’ march toward the Odisha Assembly. In response, some protesters hurled stones, chairs, and eggs at the authorities, prompting the police to deploy lathis, water cannons, and tear gas to break up the crowd at PMG Square.
The scene quickly escalated into a battleground, with security forces detaining prominent Congress leaders, including former MLA Mohammed Moquim, Odisha PCC President Bhakta Charan Das, Congress Odisha in-charge Ajay Lallu, and Congress legislature party leader Rama Chandra Kadam, to restore order.
Ajay Lallu, AICC in-charge, condemned the government’s response, stating, “The police unleashed lathis, tear gas, and water cannons. This regime is oppressive.
They suspended 14 of our MLAs for raising the issue of women’s atrocities. We demanded a ‘House Committee’ to address these concerns, but instead, our supporters were attacked. As Rahul Gandhi’s army, we will not bow to intimidation.”
The rally, attended by hundreds of Congress workers and leaders, aimed to encircle the Odisha Assembly in protest against what they claim is a surge in crimes against women under the BJP-led government.
With roads to the Assembly heavily barricaded and 80 platoons of police stationed across the city, the Commissionerate Police took extensive measures to prevent any further escalation.
The unrest follows weeks of agitation by Congress MLAs, who, since March 7, have been pushing for a ‘House Committee’ to probe the alleged rise in violence against women during the second phase of the Assembly session.
The situation intensified earlier this week when Speaker Surama Padhy suspended 14 Congress legislators on Tuesday and Wednesday for their alleged disruptive conduct in the Assembly.
