Union Minister Bishweswar Tudu Slams Odisha Govt Over Mahanadi River Row

Bhubaneswar: Senior BJP leader and Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Bishweswar Tudu on Wednesday mounted a scathing attack on Odisha’s BJD government accusing it of misleading people on Mahanadi river water row wth Chhattisgarh instead of taking quick steps to resolve the issue.

Stating that he has been a Minister for the last over one-and-a-half years, Tudu claimed that the state government has never approached him for discussion on the Mahanadi river water issue.

It shows they are not serious about getting the issue resolved soon, the senior BJP leader said, adding that the BJD has been making false statements to mislead the people on the issue. “BJD leaders are simply trying to mislead the people of the state. They are not serious about getting Mahanadi river water issue resolved in a speedy manner,” Tudu claimed.

In a stinging attack on the BJD government, the Union Minister sought to know as to why they wanted extension of the tenure of the river water dispute tribunal up to 2026 if they want the row to be resolved early.

Stressing that the Centre wants early resolution of the Mahanadi river water row, Tudu told media that the tenure of the tribunal was, therefore, extended up to 2024.

Accusing the BJD government of neglecting the interest of the state, he said it never proposed a single project on Mahanadi river during its 23 years of rule.