Bhubaneswar, March 12: Journalists in Odisha staged a protest near the Mahatma Gandhi statue on the Odisha Legislative Assembly premises on Wednesday after being barred from carrying mobile phones into the press gallery. The decision, implemented during the ongoing assembly session, has sparked outrage among the media fraternity, who see it as a restriction on press freedom.

According to reports, when journalists arrived at the Assembly to cover the question hour session, they were handed envelopes and instructed to place their mobile phones inside before entering the press gallery. Frustrated by this sudden restriction, the journalists boycotted the proceedings and launched a protest within the Assembly premises.

The controversy comes a day after a video of MLAs engaging in a physical altercation inside the Assembly went viral, raising questions about transparency. Protesters argued that the mobile phone ban was an attempt to suppress media coverage of crucial legislative proceedings.

A delegation from the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), including MLA Arun Sahu, met with the protesters and expressed solidarity, stating that the government must clarify its stance and uphold journalists' rights to report freely.

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