Bhubaneswar, March 27: Tensions were high in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, on Thursday as police resorted to lathi charge to disperse Odisha Congress workers during their protest outside the Odisha Assembly against the suspension of 14 Congress MLAs from the House and crime against women.

Protests turned violent as police used water cannons against the protestors. In resistance, Congress workers pelted chairs at the police.

On March 26, Odisha Assembly Speaker Surama Padhy suspended 12 Congress MLAs from the House for seven days on charges of "indiscipline, disrespecting the Chair, and violating rules" after they protested in the House's well on the same issue.

Odisha's Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan lashed out at the opposition for the clashes outside the Odisha Vidhan Sabha and stated that this kind of hooliganism was not acceptable and unexpected.

Speaking to ANI, Harichandan said, "The behavior that they showed yesterday and today is not acceptable. The kind of hooliganism they are showing is not expected from them..."

The Odisha Congress protest was on demanding the formation of a committee to investigate crimes against women in the last eight months of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state. The state unit of the Congress was marching to the state assembly to press for their demands.

State Congress President Bhakta Charan Das said that the party had organized a peaceful march to the assembly. Taking a dig at the state government, he said that if the force deployed to stop their workers had been deployed for the people, crimes against women would have been reduced.

"We have organized a peaceful march to the assembly. Yet, our people are being stopped in every district... They will sit down in protest wherever they are stopped... ," he said. (ANI)