Bhubaneswar: Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Rama Chandra Kadam and party MLA Ashok Das fell ill Saturday while staging a dharna in front of the Odisha Assembly building here.
Both the Congress leaders were rushed to Capital Hospital after they fell ill, a party leader said.
Kadam and Das were staging dharna in front of gate number 3 of the Assembly building in protest after being denied entry into the premises.
Kadam said he and Das were denied entry into the Assembly premises by security personnel when they were going to stage a sit-in near the Mahatma Gandhi statue on the premises.
“We know that the Speaker has suspended us from the House. But, we have every right to enter the Assembly premises. However, they have denied entry to us which is illegal and undemocratic,” he said.
As the two lawmakers continued to sit on dharna for about three hours in the scorching heat, they fell ill and doctors were called for their treatment. Later, they were shifted to the Capital Hospital as both of them showed symptoms of dehydration, a party leader said.
Kadam and Das were among the 14 Congress MLAs who were suspended from the Assembly for seven days on charge of “indiscipline” March 25 and 26.
Speaker Surama Padhy had announced their suspension after Congress MLAs created a ruckus in the Assembly demanding formation of a House Committee to inquire into the crimes against women that took place in the last eight months.
