Naveen Patnaik govt questioned ahead of BJD anniversary

Bhubaneswar: Opposition parties on Monday tried to put the ruling BJD in Odisha on the backfoot by raising several issues ahead of the latter’s observance of the 20th foundation day on Tuesday.

While the BJP sought answers from BJD leadership to 20 questions, Congress urged CM and BJD chief Naveen Patnaik to reply on job generation in past 20 years.

Prithviraj Harichandan, BJP general secretary, questioned, “When will small chit-fund depositors get back their money and corpus fund be formed as decided by the state government?”

Besides, the CM should tell when compensation would be disbursed among kin of farmers, who have ended lives over crop damage and loan burden, he said.

The BJP leader asked why recommendations of the agriculture commission had not been implemented yet. He also sought an answer on the sorry state of health services.

Senior Congress leader Srikant Jena said, “The chief minister should tell people of the state how many jobs his government has created in past 20 years.”

Refuting the charges, BJD spokesperson Prashant Nanda said, “The people of Odisha have voted Naveen Patnaik to power for four terms. They have made up their mind to bestow power for the fifth time in 2019. The BJP and Congress are afraid as the ruling party is celebrating its 20th anniversary.”