Bhubaneswar: The BJP Odisha unit's executive committee on Sunday laun-ched an attack on Naveen Patnaik government accusing it of failing to protect the honour of women and staging a drama on the contentious issue of Mahanadi water distribution by organising a campaign along the banks of the river.
The political resolution adopted at the party's two-day executive meet that concluded here also expressed its gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for choosing to visit Odisha on May 26 to highlight the achievements of his government which will complete its four years in office that day. Modi is scheduled to address a meeting in Cuttack.
The focus of BJP's resolution was, however, on picking holes in the functioning of the Odisha government with special emphasis on the rising rape cases. "Women are living under fear in the state as the law enforcing agencies have failed to take exemplary steps against criminals," said the resolution.
The BJP women's wing is already organising a Mahila Suraksha Yatra across Odisha to highlight the issue of phenomenal increase in the cases of atrocities against women.
The resolution was also critical of the Odisha government's stand on its dispute with neighbouring Chhattisgarh on the sharing of Mahanadi waters, an issue which the BJD has been trying hard to turn into an election plank. The BJD is organising a campaign along the banks of the river to bring into focus Centre's alleged biased attitude that favours the BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh.
But, the BJP resolution slammed the Naveen government for failing to act in time to safeguard Odisha's interests on the issue.
BJP national secretary Suresh Pujari said that his party had never wavered from its stand that Odisha's interest was supreme. But the Odisha government had "failed to follow a consistent policy on Mahanadi issue".
On the other hand, BJD spokesperson Amar Prasad Satpathy accused the BJP of trying to fool people and adopting unfair practices as seen in the case of Karnataka.
"This is what they always do. But people will see through their game," he said.
