Bhubaneswar: Khandapada MLA of BJD Soumya Ranjan Patnaik once again put the state government in the dock as he raised questions on efficacy of ‘5T’ initiative and ‘Mo Sarkar’ in the Assembly on Thursday.
Speaking during the question hour on Thursday, Soumya said the state government’s 5T initiative is undermining smooth functioning of the departments. “The 5T is raising a sense of separatism among the departments hampering their functions as per traditional principles. I’m afraid it would affect their transparency and efficiency in future,” he said.
Stating that the word ‘Mo’ (my) was liberally used in several government schemes, he said it needs to be ascertained whether it is done in its true spirit. Besides, there is no definite answer from the ministers regarding tangible results of such usage, he added.
Expressing his concern about depleting water level in the rivers of the state, he said, “We came to know about water literacy, water management, youth for water and Mo Nadi Abhiyan from the reply of the minister concerned. Though these words sound good to hear, can we say that we are really involved in such initiatives? Besides the minister did not clarify whether these programmes have led to any development at the ground level.”
Last year, Soumya, in his editorial in leading Odia daily Sambad, had written that the Odisha government with an urge to become the leading state in COVID management in the country had deliberately underreported COVID deaths in the state.
Expressing doubt whether the Chief Minister was aware of the prevailing scenario, he maintained that Naveen Patnaik prefers to work on the advice of a coterie comprising some bureaucrats and party leaders.
In another editorial earlier, he said posters at COVID vaccination centres should carry photos of no political leaders but of Lord Jagannath. But the BJP and the ruling BJD were trying to gain political mileage by putting photos of the Prime Minister and the chief minister on the posters.
