The Odisha Assembly witnessed high drama on Tuesday with women members of the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) sprinkling Gangajal on Opposition members, hoping good sense would prevail on them and they would cooperate with the Treasury benches to ensure smooth functioning of the House.

The Opposition BJP members responded by beating gongs and sounding bells as a mark of protest. They wore black gamchha to express their anger against government’s failure on various fronts, especially the chief minister’s refusal to drop minister of state for home, Dibya Shankar Mishra, who is facing allegations of having tried to shield the main accused in Kalahandi teacher Mamita Meher murder case. On the other hand, Congress MLAs trooped into the Well of the House holding placards and banners and shouting slogans against the government. They demanded the resignation of Mishra.

Both BJP and Congress were demanding Mishra’s arrest and his removal from the council of ministers. However, the state government is not ready to accept their demand and continues to maintain that a former district judge is already inquiring into the matter and all should wait for the results of the inquiry.

As the chaos continued, Speaker Surya Naryan Patro adjourned the House.

The protest spilled outside the Assembly. BJD MLAs staged a dharna in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue pressing the need for restoration of normalcy in the House. They held placards with slogans against the rise in the prices of essential products and Centre’s step-motherly attitude towards Odisha.

The Odisha Assembly witnessed high drama on Tuesday with women members of the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) sprinkling Gangajal on Opposition members, hoping good sense would prevail on them and they would cooperate with the Treasury benches to ensure smooth functioning of the House.

The Opposition BJP members responded by beating gongs and sounding bells as a mark of protest. They wore black gamchha to express their anger against government’s failure on various fronts, especially the chief minister’s refusal to drop minister of state for home, Dibya Shankar Mishra, who is facing allegations of having tried to shield the main accused in Kalahandi teacher Mamita Meher murder case. On the other hand, Congress MLAs trooped into the Well of the House holding placards and banners and shouting slogans against the government. They demanded the resignation of Mishra.

Both BJP and Congress were demanding Mishra’s arrest and his removal from the council of ministers. However, the state government is not ready to accept their demand and continues to maintain that a former district judge is already inquiring into the matter and all should wait for the results of the inquiry.

As the chaos continued, Speaker Surya Naryan Patro adjourned the House. The protest spilled outside the Assembly. BJD MLAs staged a dharna in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue pressing the need for restoration of normalcy in the House.

They held placards with slogans against the rise in the prices of essential products and Centre’s step-motherly attitude towards Odisha.

On the other hand, the BJP MLAs were seen offering “Puja” to Lord Jagannath and distributing prasad outside the assembly building. BJP MLA Bishnu Charan Sethi said, “ Chief minister has turned a deaf ear to all that is happening around him. In order to awaken him from his slumber, we are beating gongs. Earlier Naveen Patnaik had sacked several ministers for small mistakes but he is silent in the Mamita case. What has happened to him?”

Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati said, “ It's unfortunate and shameful that ruling party members are creating chaos in the assembly. Its their responsibility and particularly that of the chief minister, who is the leader of the House, to ensure the smooth functioning of the assembly."

In the afternoon, when the House resumed, the assembly passed a resolution urging the Centre to recognise Paika Rebellion of 1817 as the country’s “first war of independence.” Paikas were a traditional landed militia who had revolted against colonial rule and were put down by British forces.