Bhubaneswar: The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Odisha is in a jubilant mood after Naveen Patnaik broke the record of West Bengal’s Jyoti Basu to become the second-longest-serving Chief Minister in the country.
However, opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress took a dig at the BJD government over the new record set by Naveen who has been at the helm in the state for the last 23 years.
In a stinging attack on the Chief Minister over his 23 years of governance, senior BJP leader and former state party president Samir Mohanty told reporters that occupying the post of CM for such a long period of time is of no meaning without performance.
Accusing Naveen of giving many assurances to the people of the state but not fulfilling these, Mohanty said the Chief Minister has actually created a record of making false promises.
The BJP leader claimed that Naveen has set a record for not fulfilling the promises he made about irrigation facilities, setting up cold storage, and doubling farmers’ income. The Chief Minister has promised that the government would provide irrigation facility for 35 per cent of cultivable land in every block, but nothing has been done to fulfill the assurance, he claimed.
Similarly, it was promised that every block in the state would have at least one cold storage, but no step was taken to set up these facilities, Mohanty claimed, adding that the plight of farmers had been compounded in the state amid dwindling income.
Claiming that democratic norms have blatantly violated in the state, the senior BJP leader alleged that the elected representatives including Ministers, MPs and MLAs have been sidelined.
Attacking Naveen in same vein, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Sarat Pattanayak said that despite being in power for the last 23 years the Chief Minister has failed to take the state to the desired level of development. Creating record by becoming the second-longest-serving CM is of little meaning without action, he said.
Alleging that many sectors in the state have been neglected, he said health and education infrastructure appeared to have crumbled in the state due to apathy and inaction.
Sharply reacting to the criticism of BJP and Congress, senior BJD leader Amar Satpathy said that the opposition political parties should respect people’s mandate in a democracy.
Hailing Naveen as a popular leader, he said the Chief Minister is liked by the people of the state because of his performance and sincere work to ensure speedy development.
BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty claimed that Samir Mohanty has lost his political existence after being removed as state BJP president. Therefore, the BJP leader is desperately trying to make his presence felt in order to survive in politics by making meaningless statements, he said.
