Bhubaneswar, March 10 -- The Congress MLAs protested in the Odisha Assembly premises on Monday, against the alleged rise in the incidents of crimes committed against women in the state.

Congress state president Bhakta Charan Das said the safety and protection of women had to be ensured by the government.

"The safety and protection of women has to be ensured by the government...gang rapes are being committed, younger girls are being raped," he said.

Another Congress leader Srikant Jena said that Odisha was heading to become the "number one state" in crimes committed against women.

"Odisha is becoming the number one state in the crimes against women... not only in our state, but all the other states there has been a rise of crime agains...