Bhubaneswar, Dec. 7: Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik today expressed regret in the Assembly over the incident in which women were asked to remove their black scarves and stoles at his public meeting in Sundargarh on Sunday.

The incident has sparked off a controversy with Opposition parties seizing the opportunity to embarrass the chief minister and the government by staging rallies across the state and demanding an apology from Naveen.

The House, too, has been witnessing noisy proceedings over the issue.

The chief minister's decision to conduct a probe into the incident has not pacified the Congress and the BJP.

Sharing the MLAs' "concern", Naveen today told the Assembly:

"When I came to know this incident, I was personally shocked."

Aware that such an incident could dent the "pro-women" image of his party and the government, Naveen said his government "is sensitive and fully committed for empowerment and preserving dignity of women".

"I had called the home secretary and the director-general of police and warned against such conduct, which denigrates human dignity, and its repetition," he said.

Naveen said the director-general of police had been asked to conduct an inquiry and take appropriate action on security personnel behind this incident.

The inspector general (western range) Rourkela is already inquiring into the incident.

An embarrassed Naveen said he was against causing inconvenience to people while enforcing security protocol. "I had earlier directed the police several times in this regard," he said.

The Assembly has been witnessing uproar over the issue since Monday.

Yesterday, while the BJP staged protests in all the 314 blocks and 100-odd urban centres against the incident, Mahila Congress activists demonstrated in front of the Assembly wearing black saris.

In the House, Congress chief whip Tara Prasad Bahinipati today reiterated his party's demand for the chief minister's resignation.

The BJP members stormed into the Well after BJP MLA from Brajarajnagar Radharani Panda was not allowed to speak on the issue.

This had led the Speaker to adjourn the House four times.

Later, Panda alleged: "During the chief minister's visit to Jharsuguda last month, the police had snatched away my black shawl when I was sitting on the dais."