Student and youth party members of Opposition Biju Janata Dal boycotted classes on Wednesday, held street demonstrations, and burned effigies to protest against the spurt of crimes against women, including the gang rape of a 20-year-old female college student at Gopalpur beach in Ganjam district last week.
The BJD had issued summons on the statewide students' strike which took place on Wednesday. The protesters chanted slogans against the state Bharatiya Janata Party government and blamed the double-engine sarkar for not ensuring security for women of all ages. Protesters were carrying placards and sporting black badges,
Apart from the protest at Utkal University and various college campuses in Bhubaneswar, roads were blocked and protests were held by students in several places, including Cuttack, Puri, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Balasore, Koraput, Sambalpur and others.
Also read: 20-year-old girl gangraped in Odisha; all 10 accused arrested
No report of any violence from anywhere was reported, said police, while adding that the youths and students showed their annoyance over the increase in rapes.
BJD leaders, MLAs, former ministers and ex-MPs were also part of the agitations and addressed rallies. They all condemned the state government for the current law and order scenario.
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Speaking on behalf of a press conference, BJD MLAs Byamakesh Ray and Debi Prasad Tripathy expressed gratitude to students and youth for participating in the agitations wholeheartedly. "We thank all the participating youth and students for their response due to which the strike was totally successful," they issued in a statement.
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