Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) has announced its support to the call for Odisha Bandh on January 28 by Navnirman Krushak Sangathan (NKS).
The bandh primarily protests the alleged poor handling and irregularities in paddy procurement in the state, forced installation of smart meters by Tata Power and steep penalties levied on vehicle owners under pollution certificate enforcement. The NKS has called for the immediate disbursement of the Rs 800 per quintal subsidy to farmers and the removal of middlemen and millers from the mandi system.
“The bandh will be observed from 6 am to 2 pm. Essential services will continue uninterrupted during this period,” said NKS National Coordinator Akshay Kumar.
The state Congress president, Bhakta Charan Das, emphasised that the issues highlighted by NKS are closely tied to the welfare of the general public. The OPCC has resolved to provide complete support for the bandh and has directed all its d
istrict-level units to actively participate and mobilise in favour of the call, he added.
The Congress has also been actively campaigning statewide against the alleged discontinuation or dilution of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), arguing that it has severely harmed rural employment and incomes.
The bandh is likely to disrupt normal life across Odisha. Protesters are expected to block roads at major intersections, potentially hindering vehicle movement in various regions. There may also be rail roko demonstrations at train stations, which could temporarily halt or delay railway operations.
Meanwhile, the BJP sharply criticised the bandh call, labelling it a “fake farmers’ movement”.
BJP spokesperson Manoj Mahapatra claimed that NKS has no real grassroots backing and accused the Congress of lacking the ability to rally people on its own, instead using the farmers’ group as a front. Mahapatra further stated that the organisation’s leaders have minimal knowledge of farming and can’t even tell paddy from husk. He argued that farmers suffered and lost morale under the earlier BJD regime, while middlemen and brokers reaped the benefits.
Asserting that farmers are now feeling more optimistic under the BJP government led by Mohan Majhi, Mahapatra predicted that the bandh would have little impact in the state.