Bhubaneswar: Mounting a scathing attack on the BJP government in Odisha, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik on Thursday held it responsible for the death of two tribal women after consuming mango kernel gruel in Kandhamal district recently.
Accusing the BJP government of halting rice supplies to poor tribal families, the former Chief Minister said the women were forced to eat gruel made from mango kernel allegedly due to lack of adequate food at their homes.
“The state government has stopped the provision of rice for poor tribals. Therefore, they were forced to eat mango kernel gruel. Two people have died and others are undergoing treatment. This is very sad,” he claimed while addressing a meeting of party’s students wing at Sankha Bhawan, the BJD headquarters in Bhubaneswar.
Voicing concern over the state government’s actions, Naveen alleged that it had “ruined” the efforts of his (BJD) government, which had previously ensured people received adequate grains.
He said the previous BJD government had introduced the state’s own food security scheme for those who were not covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
“During our government, people were getting adequate grains. We had introduced a food security scheme for those not covered under the NFSA. Now, the present government has ruined all those efforts. As a result, people are forced to eat gruel made from mango kernel because they are not getting rice,” claimed Naveen.
The BJD supremo called upon the youth and student wings of the party to counter the “anti-propaganda” from rivals on social media.