Bhubaneswar: Hitting out at Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for deciding to contest from Kantabanji Assembly seat, veteran Congress leader and MLA Narasingha Mishra on Wednesday accused him of adopting a step-motherly approach towards western Odisha.
Notably, the BJD president will contest from Kantabanji Assembly seat in Balangir district along with his traditional Hinjili seat in Ganjam district, where he is seeking re-election for the sixth term.
“Naveen Patnaik has all along been adopting a step-motherly approach towards western Odisha. He has always betrayed the region. Promises made by the CM for western Odisha were never fulfilled,” the senior Congress leader told media.
The Chief Minister during campaign for by-election had promised to accord district status to Padampur by December 2023, he said, adding that Padampur is yet to be declared a district.
Similarly, during campaign for the by-election to Jharsuguda Assembly constituency, Naveem had promised to provide land and Rs three crore for construction of a building in Bhubaneswar, but no step has so far been taken in this direction, Mishra claimed.
Coming down heavily on the Chief Minister, the Congress leader accused him of having failed to fulfil any of his promises. Naveen did nothing to meet the demand for establishment of a permanent bench of the High Court in western Odisha, while no agriculture university has come up in Balangir, he said.
Due to continuous negligence and apathy towards western Odisha, the demand for a separate Koshala state is gradually getting intensified, Mishra claimed.
“Now the CM has decided to contest the assembly polls from Kantabanji simply out of fear. He is trying to show that he has love and affection for western Odisha by seeking election from Kantabanji in Balangir district,” the senior Congress leader claimed.
However, this trick is not going to work this time as the people of the area are aware that Naveen has not taken any step to set up industry in the region and create employment opportunities, he said, adding that lakhs of youth go out as migrant workers from Kantabanji due to lack of jobs in the state.
“People of western Odisha are unhappy with the BJD government and they will teach Naveen Patnaik a lesson in Kantabanji. Though the CM is contesting from the Assembly seat thinking that his move will make the people of the region happy, the result will just be opposite. People will give him a fitting reply this time,” Mishra added.
