INDIA bloc calls Odisha bandh over mining law

INDIA bloc on Tuesday announced an Odisha bandh on October 8 to demand the repeal of the new mining law and two other issues, as members of the alliance staged a demonstration near Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s residence.

Hundreds of workers and leaders of bloc partners such as the Congress, CPI(M), CPI, CPI(ML) Liberation, Forward Bloc, NCP, Samajwadi Party and RJD took part in the rally.

The protesters had earlier planned to gherao the Assembly but shifted their focus to the chief minister’s residence after the Monsoon Session was adjourned sine die a day earlier.

“The BJP Government adjourned the Assembly sine die instead of answering our questions on the MMDR Bill, ‘vote chori’ and CEC Gyanesh Kumar. But they can’t adjourn the people’s questions. We are staging agitation before the CM’s residence,” Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhakta Charan Das said.

The protesters clashed with security personnel after police stopped them from marching towards the chief minister’s residence.

Some supporters broke through the barricades and courted arrest, while several others were taken into custody for allegedly violating the law, a senior police officer said.

Addressing the gathering, Das announced the Statewide bandh for October 8 and appealed to people to join it.

The demands include repeal of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) (MMDR) Amendment Act, 2026, resignation of Odisha School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond over alleged errors in school textbooks.