Jagdish Tytler, state Congress president Niranjan Patnaik and National Youth Congress president Rajeev Satav launch Youth Congress membership drive. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Bhubaneswar/Cuttack June 17: Senior Congress leader Jagdish Tytler today fired yet another salvo at the Naveen Patnaik government by posing six more questions to it.

Demanding pointed replies, Tytler today claimed that the Orissa government had not given satisfactory replies to the questions raised by him earlier. “Earlier, I had raised 14 questions. I wonder why till today the chief minister has not replied to my questions,” Tytler said.

In his latest missive, Tytler sought to know from the government whether it was true regarding the 1797 cases of fund misappropriation, losses, defalcations of government money pending.

He accused the government of being incapable to handle land pertaining to lease, alienation and encroachment as the government does not have any database of land record. He was referring to the land acquisition policy of Orissa.

Tytler said the industrial houses with the tacit understanding of the government had unauthorisedly occupying 106.438 acres.

Making serious allegations against the government, Tytler questioned why the government was playing a “heinous game” with pregnant women and under nourished children by supplying them keshari dal against arhar dal. “The keshari dal causes letheriassis (paralysis of lower limbs). The Orissa government is now supplying the keshari dal instead of arhar dal under the mid-day meal and special nutrition programme,” he said.

Reiterating his charge that the Orissa government had been failing to utilise central funds, he said: “The Centre had announced the national afforestration and eco development programme for promoting afforestration, tree planting, ecological restoration and eco development activities in Orissa with a fund of Rs 1,000.30 crore. But, Rs 83.03 crore are left unspent till today.”

Tytler was here to participate in the membership drive launched by the Youth Congress. At Satyabrata Indoor stadium in Cuttack, he said: “Thirty per cent seats would be given to youths in the coming panchayat elections.”

Union minister for state fertilisers and chemicals Srikant Jena said: “Orissa ranks No. 1 in poverty in the country despite being rich in mineral resources. Though the Orissa government is getting adequate central assistance, it has failed to utilise for benefit of the people.”

Senior leaders, including PCC president Niranjan Patnaik and the outgoing youth Congress president Pradeep Majhi, were present at the event.