Bhubaneswar: War of words between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) over mango kernel incident continued on Friday with the regional party intensifying its attack on the state government.
A day after BJD president Naveen Patnaik held the BJP government responsible for the death of two tribal women after eating mango kernel gruel in Kandhamal, senior party leader Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak lashed out at Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Krushna Chandra Patra over his remarks on the issue.
While Naveen made fresh attack on the BJP government over the issue in a post on X handle, Nayak described the approach of the government unfortunate. Both sought to highlight how the previous BJD government had made significant achievement in ensuring food security in the state.
Nayak, a former Food Supplies Minister, told reporters that in 2022 State Ranking Index for NFSA, Odisha was Ranked No 1 state in the country by the Central government.
He further stated that the World Food Programme, a UN agency, has also praised the efforts of Naveen Patnaik in for Odisha’s impressive performance in ensuring food security.
Accusing the BJP government of halting rice supplies to poor tribal families, both Naveen and Nayak said the women were forced to eat gruel made from mango kernel allegedly due to lack of adequate food at their homes.
Terming the death of two women in mango kernel incident, they said the previous BJD government had introduced the state’s own food security scheme for those who were not covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
During BJD rule, people were getting adequate grains as it had introduced a food security scheme for those not covered under the NFSA, Nayak said, adding that poor people are forced to eat gruel made from mango kernel because they are not getting rice under the public distribution system (PDS).
The BJD leader urged Minister Patra to ensure food delivery to the needy people instead of issuing statements which are “unfortunate.”