BJP Flays ‘Failure’ Of Odisha Govt To Protect Border Areas From Neighbours

Bhubaneswar: The BJP on Saturday criticised the Odisha government for its alleged failure to protect the state’s border areas from neighbouring states.

BJP state vice-president Bhrugu Buxipatra told the media that since the formation of Odisha in 1936, neither the previous governments nor the present BJD government have been able to protect the border areas of the state.

Buxipatra claimed that the neighbouring states of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and West Bengal have taken possession of border areas of Odisha, but the government has not been able to claim its territories because it failed to produce relevant documents in court.

Referring to the recent intrusion by Andhra Pradesh government into Kotia panchayat in Koraput district, the BJP leader said the Naveen Patnaik government has been taking any initiative for Chief Ministerial talks to resolve the dispute for more than 20 years now.

He urged the state government to conduct a survey of all border villages and initiate talks at the earliest.

The ruling BJD, however, refuted the opposition’s allegation. BJD Rajya Sabha member Subash Singh said the state government was trying its best to resolve the border dispute.

“The state government has resisted the intrusion of Andhra Pradesh government into the border villages in Koraput, Ganjam and Nabarangpur districts and initiated talks with the officials and ministers of the neighbouring state to put an end to the dispute between the two states,” Singh added.