Congress MLAs who were suspended from the Odisha Assembly clashed with the police while trying to enter the Vidhan Sabha premises on Wednesday, ANI reported.

Speaker Surama Padhy on Tuesday suspended 12 out of the state’s 14 Congress MLAs for seven days for alleged indiscipline and disrespect of the Chair after they held protests in the Well of the House. The Congress legislators had been holding protests since March 7 against the alleged rise in crimes against women and children in the state.

The MLAs on Wednesday tried to enter the Vidhan Sabha despite the suspension, arguing that they had the right to enter the Assembly premises, if not the House itself, PTI reported. The police, however, stopped them from entering the premises, leading to a scuffle.

Jagmohan Meena, the Bhubaneswar deputy police commissioner, said that Congress members were detained for violating orders banning public gatherings near the Assembly building. They were later taken to a nearby reserve ground and then released.

Ram Chandra Kadam, the Congress’ legislature party leader, said: “We wanted to enter the Assembly premises to stage a dharna near the Mahatma Gandhi statue to protest the suspension of 12 of the 14 Congress MLAs on Tuesday. However, the police did not allow us entry into the Assembly premises. This is a gross violation of the privilege of elected peoples’ representatives."

The two Congress MLAs who were not suspended, Taraprasad Bahinipati and Ramesh Jena, also faced difficulties in entering the Assembly, PTI reported. They were, however, eventually allowed to enter.

“We were not allowed to enter the House,” Bahinipati said. “We have to fight to enter the Assembly.”

Late on Tuesday night, security officials evicted the suspended MLAs from the House. The Congress legislators earlier held protests in the Well of the House against the suspension.

Kadam alleged that the MLAs were denied food, water and access to the toilet while they were protesting in the Assembly.

Sagar Charan Das, one of the suspended MLAs, said that action was taken against them as they sought accountability from the government.

“What followed was even more alarming, MLAs were manhandled, humiliated and assaulted,” he said on social media. “This blatant misuse of power, disrespects and undermines the dignity of elected representatives.”

The suspensions

Since Friday, protesting Congress MLAs had been playing gongs and flutes to press their demand that an Assembly committee be set up to look into crimes against women, The Indian Express reported.

On Tuesday, as soon as the Assembly proceedings began, the Congress legislators began protests, after which Speaker Surama Padhy repeatedly adjourned the House. As the MLAs continued to protest in the Well of the Assembly, Padhy asked the marshal to request the legislators to leave the House. The legislators were later suspended for alleged indiscipline.

Revenue Minister Suresh Pujari alleged that the MLAs disrupted the proceedings for no valid reason, according to The Indian Express.

“The government is ready for discussion on any issue raised by Opposition parties,” he said. “[But] their behaviour is not desirable at all. As far as I know, from February 14, at least 31 hours were lost due to disruption in the House.”