Odisha Speaker Surama Padhy on Monday rejected the no-confidence motion submitted by the Congress against the Mohan Charan Majhi government, sparking protests from the Opposition.

Citing procedural errors and time constraints caused by repeated disruptions, the Speaker ruled the motion invalid, prompting Congress MLAs to stage a dharna in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue inside the assembly premises.

As soon as Padhy announced her decision, Congress MLAs stormed into the well of the House, raised slogans against the Speaker and later walked out to continue their sit-in protest.

Congress Legislature Party leader Rama Chandra Kadam alleged that the Speaker acted under government pressure. “We are confident that many MLAs from both Congress and BJD would have supported the no-confidence motion. Scared of defections, the government directed the Speaker to reject it. Though we have only 14 MLAs, support from the other camps could have changed the numbers,” he said.

The BJP currently holds 81 MLAs with backing from three Independents, while the BJD has 50 following the death of Nuapada MLA Rajendra Dholkia. Congress has 14 and the Left has one.

Congress MLA C.S. Raazen Ekka said the motion was filed to compel the government to debate farmers’ distress, crimes against women, unemployment and governance failures. “The Majhi government’s 15 months stand exposed. Rejection of the motion is murder of democracy,” he alleged.

Senior Congress leader Narasingha Mishra, also a lawyer, said the Speaker had ample powers to admit the motion but chose not to. MLA Sophia Firdous added that Congress’s appeal to the BJD for support went unanswered. “This shows the BJP and the BJD are hand in glove. They are brothers to each other,” she said.

The motion had been formally submitted to Assembly Secretary Satyabrata Rout on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, the House witnessed uproar from BJD MLAs protesting the state cabinet’s decision to enhance the financial powers of Block Development Officers (BDOs), which they said undermined the three-tier Panchayati Raj system. Holding placards, they stormed the well, forcing Speaker Padhy to adjourn proceedings till Monday.