Bhubaneswar: In a scathing attack on Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for visiting Mumbai during Assembly session, BJP stalwart and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Jayanarayan Mishra on Tuesday said the tour was an image building exercise.
Terming Naveen’s Mumbai visit at this juncture as a shameful act, the firebrand BJP leader said instead of being in the Assembly during the important budget session, the Chief Minister chose to receive a ‘sponsored’ award in the country’s commercial capital.
The CM’s continuous absence in the Assembly is not good for democracy, Mishra said, asking why Naveen skipped discussion on key issues like law and order situation, education, health, agriculture, border row and the annual budget in the Assembly.
The senior BJP leader also sought to know whether the Mumbai visit was an attempt to correct the image recently created by the common people about the so-called ‘Manas Putra’ of the CM.
Mishra’s attack came after the Chief Minister on Monday left for Mumbai where he received the ‘Best State for the Promotion of Sports’ award at the Sportstar Aces 2023.
Hitting out at Naveen, the LoP said official data show 1379 murder and 3184 rape cases were registered in the state in 2022. It shows the state is witnessing 4 murders and 10 rapes daily though Naveen has been the Chief Minister and remained in charge of Home department for the last 23 years, he said.
