New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Tuesday announced its decision to highlight certain major issues affecting Odisha including the farmer crisis and deteriorating law-and-order situation in the state during the upcoming budget session of Parliament.
Speaking to the media after an all-party meeting ahead of the Parliament session, BJD MP Sasmit Patra said that the regional party is set to raise two major issues relating to Odisha – farmers and their welfare and worsening law-and-order situation.
Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Odisha of neglecting farmers, the BJD leader alleged that the farming community is in utter distress in the state due to lack of proper procurement of paddy and irregularities in the process.
Describing the current kharif paddy procurement as a comp
lete disaster, he claimed that procurement has remained substantially short of the state’s ambitious target of 73 lakh metric tonnes.
Patra alleged that BJP’s promise of Rs 3,100 per quintal of paddy price remains unfulfilled, while the plight of farmers has been further compounded because of ‘katni and chatni’ during paddy procurement.
Describing the law-and-order situation in the state as alarming, the BJD MP claimed that Odisha has been witnessing sharp rise in incidents of crimes and atrocities against women and children.
He further alleged that Odisha’s reputation as a peaceful state has been shattered, with rising communal tensions, riots, and attacks on minorities. The BJP government alone is responsible for this breakdown in law and order, he alleged.
The regional party will also raise issues relating to Mahanadi River water dispute and Polavaram project during the Parliament session, Patra said, adding that no concrete step has so far been taken by the BJP government in the state for the settlement of these issues.
Stating that the youth in the state are in utter despair due to severe unemployment, the BJD MP claimed that no step has been taken for creation of adequate job opportunities.