Bhubaneswar, Feb 19 : Pandemonium broke out in the Assembly in Orissa on Tuesday as opposition leaders raised the issue of the deteriorating law and order situation and the continued Maoist menace in the region, forcing the house to adjourn.

"We wanted an adjournment motion to be discussed on the law and order situation," said Narrasingh Mishra, a senior Congress leader.

Trouble began when Opposition MLAs rushed to the well of the House to reiterate their demand for a discussion on the Maoist problem.

As a group of Congress legislators were busy arguing over the issue with a member of the Treasury Bench, some Biju Janata Dal members attempted to counter them. Soon one of the Congress MLAs thrashed three ruling party members one after the other.

On Monday, the police seized a large cache of the looted arms and ammunitions, which were left behind by the Maoists rebels from a forest in Ganjam district.

Following the recovery, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had said that about 40 per cent of the looted weapons and over 50 per cent of the ammunition have been recovered so far.

Patnaik added that an intensive combing operation was in progress to capture to rebels.

At least 20 Maoists were killed by the security forces during a massive combing operation in five districts of Orissa, including Nayagarh, where 15 people were killed in Friday night's Maoist attack.

The Maoist attack came close on the heels of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declaring the decades-old Maoist insurgency as the gravest threat to India's internal security.

In a daring and meticulously planned wave of attacks, the ultras virtually laid a siege to the town.

ANI