INDIA Bloc parties held a statewide bandh on October 8 over a mining law and the electoral-roll revision, with businesses closing but no major violence reported.
The all-day action was called against the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2026, and to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over his role in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Protesters also sought the resignation of School and Mass Education Minister Nityanand Gond, citing more than 1,700 errors in textbooks for Classes I to VIII.
INDIA Bloc parties, including Congress and Left groups, enforced the shutdown in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur and other major district towns. Shops along national and state highways and key urban roads remained closed. Organizers said ambulances and students travelling to examinations would be exempt.
There were no reports of violence. Protesters stopped passenger vehicles to ask about their destinations, while long-distance buses stayed at terminals and passengers waited for the disruption to ease.
Suresh Panigrahy, Odisha state secretary of the CPI(M), described the response as unprecedented. He argued that the mining law removed the state’s right to tax mineral extraction and could harm its economy over time. INDIA Bloc leaders said protests over alleged irregularities and government actions would continue.