Bhubaneswar: Opposition Bjiu Janata Dal on Thursday launched a month-long state-wide ‘Jan Sampark Padayatra’ to make people aware of the alleged failures of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Odisha.
The regional party’s annual foot march, which usually starts on Gandhi Jayanti every year, was this year delayed due to Dussehra, BJD’s senior vice-president and former minister Debi Prasad Mishra said.
However, BJD president Naveen Patnaik, who is also the leader of opposition (LoP) in the state Assembly, was absent during the launch of the month-long drive as he has been away in New Delhi.
Mishra said the programme will cover all the 147 assembly constituencies and 314 blocks of the state before culminating on November 9.
Before launching the foot march, BJD senior leaders garlanded the statues of ‘Panch Sakha’ at Sakhigopal in Puri district. The ‘Pancha Sakha’ or five friends are 16th-century poet-saints — Achyutananda Das, Ananta Das, Jasovanta Das, Jagannatha Das, and Balarama Das — who have deeply influenced both Oriya spiritualism and literature.
The march started at Balapur in Sakhigopal and continued till Suando village, the birthplace of Utkalamani Gopabandhu Das, a freedom fighter, social reformer, journalist and educationist.
Opposition chief whip in the assembly, Pramila Mallik, said BJD leaders will visit every village and create awareness among the people about the “failures of the BJP government in maintaining law and order and ensuring security for women”, and how the saffron leaders “mislead women in name of Subhadra scheme”.
She alleged that other than changing the names of schemes, the Mohan Charan Majhi government has done nothing for people’s welfare in the last 15 months. BJP’s promise of creating an “alcohol-free Odisha” has become a farce, she claimed.
Mishra said that the party leaders would also highlight how ‘Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana’, a health scheme launched by the BJD government, was beneficial for the people but after the introduction of Ayushman Bharat, people are struggling to get free healthcare services.
Party supremo Naveen Patnaik used to launch the padayatra every year but this time, he was not available.
“People love and respect Naveen babu. His popularity draws crowds in BJD’s processions,” the party’s Bhubaneswar unit president and former minister Ashok Panda said.
Meanwhile, ruling BJP termed the programme of BJD as an exercise to save its existence and identity. It also sought to know as to why the BJD supremo was absence during the launch of the programme.
Senior BJP leader and Panchayati Raj Minister Rabi Narayan Naik slammed the BJD for “using Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das’ name for political gains”.
People across Odisha know that the BJP’s 15-month-old government has served people and fulfilled most of its promises made to the people before the elections, he said.