Orissa Assembly

Bhubaneswar, Feb. 21: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik today claimed that his government had “successfully curbed” the Maoist menace.

Naveen went on to add that the violence profile in Orissa was “less” compared to other states, even as the Opposition in the Assembly demanded his resignation over the recent rebel attack at Nagagarh that claimed 16 lives.

The Opposition came down heavily on the government for its “failure” in the combing operation going on for the past six days after the February 15 attack. “Either you face the challenge, or resign,” roared the Opposition leader, J.B. Patnaik, while speaking at a debate.

Today the Speaker was forced to admit the adjournment motion suspending all other business, as more than 14 required Opposition members rose to press for it.

The leader of Opposition blamed the government for not being “alert enough” and for ignoring a threat letter sent to the Nayagarh collector by the rebels. The veteran leader also flayed the government for not fortifying armouries and deploying adequate guards.

He stated that there should be four havildars, 16 sepoys, an assistant commandant and a deputy subedar in every police armoury. The leader also wished to know if such precautions were taken at the Police Training School.

Initiating the debate on the adjournment motion, deputy leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra criticised the government for its failure in addressing the red menace.

Strongly countering the Opposition’s allegations, the chief minister claimed that his government had introduced several anti-poverty and developmental schemes out of its own funds to put an end to the menace.

Describing the growth of rebel activities as an “all-India phenomenon”, Naveen said: “Whenever we discuss Nayagarh, we are reminded of the incidents in Dantewada, Rani Bodli, and Chilkhari in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.”