Bhubaneswar, Mar 1: The Odisha Congress staged a protest outside Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s official residence on Saturday, denouncing the increasing atrocities against women in the state.
Led by newly appointed party president Bhakta Charan Das, Congress members marched from their party office to the Chief Minister’s residence, carrying banners and placards. When they attempted to breach the police barricade to reach the CM's house, security forces stepped in, stopping their progress and detaining several party leaders in a police van.
Das claimed that 54 rape cases had been reported in Odisha during the past eight months under BJP rule, highlighting the failure of the so-called "double-engine government" to address crimes against women. He also pointed to disturbing reports of gang rapes in various districts and the shocking incidents of three minor girls giving birth in government-run schools, which, according to him, reflected a collapse of law and order in the state.
“This situation has deeply shamed the BJP government’s ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ slogan,” Das said.
He emphasized that the party would continue to fight for the protection of ordinary citizens and would take its struggle to the streets in a democratic manner. Following the protest, police rounded up the Congress activists present at the site.
