Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], March 11 (ANI): Odisha Speaker on Tuesday suspended Congress MLA Tara Bahinipati from the house for seven days for 'unparliamentary behavior' following a scuffle between BJP and Congress MLAs in the State Assemby.

Ruckus ensued inside the State assembly after Bahinipati climbed onto the Speaker's podium earlier today.

BJD MLA Arun Kumar Sahoo said, 'One of the senior leaders, Tara Bahinipati, was suspended for seven days by the Speaker and the motion was passed by the treasury bench. We demanded voting but they did not allow it. This is a one-sided decision. We demand the Speaker reconsider the decision and lift the suspension.'

On the ruckus in the state assembly today, Odisha Minister Krushna Chandra Mohapatra said, 'This is against the spirit of the constitution. He (Congress leader Tara Prasad Bahinipati) tried to break my microphone. I am very saddened by this behavior...'

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Jayanarayan Mishra termed the ruckus in the Odisha assembly as 'unfortunate,' saying that the current government is working for the development of the state.

'The most unfortunate thing that happened today (in the assembly) is that an MLA broke the microphone of a minister while he was replying to a question in the assembly,' the BJP MLA said.

However, Bahinipati alleged that the BJP MLAs held him from his collar.

'Most of the BJP MLAs are criminals... They held me from my collar and I requested the minister to leave me... We will not get scared,' Bahinipati told ANI.

Congress MLAs today also staged a protest against the BJP-led Odisha government outside the Legislative Assembly over the alleged rising incidents of crimes against women in the State. (ANI)