CMO Has Turned ‘Club House’ For Retired Bureaucrats, Alleges Odisha Cong

Bhubaneswar: The Congress party on Tuesday the chief minister’s office (CMO) in Bhubaneswar has turned a club house for ‘unfit’ retired bureaucrats.

Speaking to media persons, here, Congress spokesman Manoj Mohapatra said retired officers like R Balkrishnan (chief advisor to chief minister), Asit Tripathy (principal advisor) and Gopabandhu Das (OSD) have been appointed in advisory posts with no accountability.

“While these officers are paid to engage in merry-making from people’s money, they engage in collecting their share from contractors and companies for getting government projects. The CMO has become a club house for these officers,” said Mohapatra.

Why the chief minister has appointed the retired officers while failing to provide employment to unemployed youths of the state? he questioned.

He further said the government’s reluctance in pursuing its case on reservation for OBCs in the Supreme Court like other states while going for panchayat elections in a haste reflects its step-motherly attitude towards the backward community.

Mohapatra also raised question on chief minister not attending Assembly sessions for two years on plea of COVID pandemic and asked how could he move around for campaigning during elections and attend sports functions in Kalinga Stadium.

Throwing several posers to the chief minister on the government policies, the Congress leader asked how many accused in the murder of 13 tribals on January2, 2006 have been brought to book, what happened to free power supply to the farmers of the state and how many ministers and MLAs allegedly involved in sensitive criminal cases have been penalised.

He also put the chief minister in the dock on issues like Pari murder case, Mahanga double murder, Mahaling college teacher’s murder in Kalahandi district, rape and murder of Smitarani Biswal in Jajpur, chit fund case, operation of mining mafia, migrant labour.

Mohapatra dared the chief minister to come out clean on these issues instead of remaining in the shadow of the bureaucrats.