Bhubaneswar: Senior BJP leader and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday slammed the BJD-led government for growing lawlessness and the worrying maternal mortality rate in Odisha.
“The manner in which senior police officers, including DGP and a few IPS officers, are being used, probably, is not witnessed in any other part of the country. We are in the path of systematic failure,” he said after attending a party event here.
Targeting Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik over alleged police brutality on BJP Yuva Morcha and AVBP activists, Dharmendra said that ego like that of Ravana (Demon King) and Duryodhan (Kaurav) does not last long in democracy. “Several protesting BJP workers were sent to jail after being booked under IPC Section 307. Even ABVP workers were put behind the bars for protesting against anti-nationalists. These are political protests. You will soon run short of jail in this attempt to choke every opposing voice,” he said.
The Union Minister further said that the maternal mortality rate has been an area of concern despite BJD’s 23 years in power. “Law and order and maternal mortality rate are not political but social matters and need to be addressed. 19% newborns were reported to be underweight in the state, 31% were stunted while wasting (weight-for-height) was reported in 18% children. Prevalence of anaemia was 64% among children and 61.8% in women,” he added.
BJP state unit president Samir Mohanty and other senior leaders were present.
