Bhubaneswar, Oct. 9: The Congress’ eight-day padayatra concluded today while the Biju Janata Dal’s foot march in different parts of the state would come to an end after two more days.
Both the parties have been trying to outscore each other, charging up the political atmosphere in Odisha.
While the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee’s eight-day-long “Parivartan Padayatra” terminated today at Sakhigopal in Puri district on the birth anniversary of Uktalmani Pandit Gopabandhu Das, the BJD has decided to generate more following before its yatra ends on October 11 on the birth anniversary of Jayaprakash Narayan. Both the parties started their padayatras on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
Jubilant Congress leaders said their yatra would certainly strengthen the organisation and pave the way for the party to come back to power. At Sakhigopal, All-India Congress Committee leader in charge of Odisha affairs Jagdish Tytler said: “Congress will come back to power in the next election. There will be a Congress raj. As the Naveen Patnaik government has turned to be a corrupt one, people will throw it out of power. It has lost its moral authority to remain in power.”
On the concluding day of the padayatra, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Niranjan Patnaik said: “The padayatra has been able to generate a huge response among the public. The Odisha government has failed to utilise the funds being released by the Centre under various welfare schemes. It is also trying to take credit for these schemes by creating an impression as if they were its own.”
On the other hand, BJD supremo and chief minister Naveen Patnaik today reached out to the people at Salia Sahi in Bhubaneswar.
Naveen said that the BJD padayatra was going on successfully across Odisha and that it was aimed at making people aware of the various welfare schemes and the achievement of the Odisha government. He also told his supporters how the Centre was neglecting Odisha in various sectors.
The congress’s padayatra, which was launched from Swaraj Ashram in Cuttack, mainly passed across the coastal belt of Odisha. However, they also organised rallies in other parts of the state.
The BJD targeted the Centre for its “apathetic attitude” towards the cause of Odisha. Coinciding with the padayatra, BJD women’s wing today organised a rally to protest against the increase in the price of LPG and cap on cylinders for each household. They also submitted a memorandum addressed to the President through governor M.C. Bhandare.
“If the Centre fails to review its decision, we will organise the rally across Odisha,” said BJD women’s wing chief Pramila Mallick.
The disgruntled leaders of the BJD, who had formed the Odisha Jan Morcha, today requested city police to allow it to hold a rally at Lower PMG Square on October 28.
