On Tuesday, the Odisha Assembly saw intense drama as 12 suspended Congress MLAs refused to leave the Well of the House. They were protesting and demanding a committee to investigate crimes against women during the eight-month BJP rule in the state. Earlier in the afternoon, Speaker Surama Padhy announced their suspension for seven days, including Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Rama Chandra Kadam, citing "indiscipline" in the House. 

As the suspended legislators refused to leave, Speaker Padhy instructed the marshals to persuade them to vacate the Well before adjourning the House for the day. Taraprasad Bahinipati, a senior Congress member, was one of the two party MLAs who managed to avoid suspension, saying, “We have decided to spend the night in the Well of the House and continue to demand formation of the committee. Let them throw us out by using marshals or the police. We are not scared.”Six Congress MLAs—Sagar Charan Das, Mangu Khilla, Satyajeet Gomango, Ashok Kumar Das, Dasarathi Gamango, and Sofia Firdous—have been suspended from the Assembly. However, two other Congress MLAs, Taraprasad Bahinipati and Ramesh Jena, were not suspended because they were absent when the announcement was made. Earlier, on March 11, Bahinipati had already been suspended for seven working days on similar grounds.

After the suspension was announced by Speaker Padhy, Congress members protested by creating a ruckus in the Assembly. They played gongs as a sign of protest, chanted ‘Ram dhuns,’ and continued their demonstration in the Well of the House. Since March 7, the second phase of the budget session has been disrupted due to ongoing protests by Congress MLAs. They have been demanding the formation of a House Committee and have staged protests inside the assembly by blowing whistles, playing flutes, gongs, and cymbals. On Tuesday, chaos in the assembly forced Speaker Padhy to adjourn the proceedings 14 times—seven times before lunch and another seven times after the session resumed at 4 PM. Throughout the day, Congress members continued their protest with musical instruments, while BJD members countered by shouting slogans in support of proportionate reservations for ST, SC, and OBC candidates in education and jobs.

The all-party meeting called by Deputy Speaker Bhabani Shankar Bhoi failed to bring any solution, and the commotion in the House continued. Meanwhile, three senior BJD leaders—Opposition Chief Whip Pramila Mallik, eight-time MLA R.P. Swain, and former minister Ganeswar Behera—requested the Speaker to reconsider the suspension of MLAs. “We urge the Speaker to give it a thought as to why such an incident took place. It is high time that the chief minister intervenes and resolves the issue,” Behera told reporters outside the House. OPCC president Bhakta Charan Das also opposed the decision and called for the suspension order to be withdrawn immediately.    While justifying the act of playing gongs in the assembly, Das said: "What is wrong in it? This is done in temples and the assembly is also a temple of democracy. It was a means to awaken the government, which remained silent on the rise of crimes against women.”

Das also stated that the Congress would not give in to such actions. “We will play gongs across Odisha in order to make the government aware to form a House Committee to inquire into crimes against women,” he asserted. CLP leader Rama Chandra Kadam stated that the party has made every effort to urge the government to be more sensitive to cases of violence against women.    “What is wrong in forming a House Committee? The all-party members will inquiry into the matter and make suggestions,” Kadam said.