Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan | Reuters
BHUBANESWAR:After Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan admitted that Chhattisgarh has blocked Mahanadi river water to provide it to industrial houses, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Sunday maintained that such a statement by the Minister is more out of compulsion and has less sincerity.
Addressing a media conference here, BJD Rajya Sabha Member Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, Finance Minister Sashi Bhusan Behera and party general secretary Sanjay Dasburma demanded that the Centre, Pradhan and BJP should clear stand on the Mahanadi river water dispute. Dasburma said the Union Minister should meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and request him to ensure that Chhattisgarh Government stops all construction activities on the river till the tribunal gives its recommendations on the dispute.
Dasburma asked Pradhan whether he can stop implementation of three new projects for which Chhattisgarh Government has floated tenders.Referring to the statement by Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh that construction of ongoing projects will continue, Dasburma asked whether the Union Minister can influence the Centre to ensure that flow of water in Mahanadi is not affected.
Stating that the account given by Pradhan of the achievement of Narendra Modi Government in the last four years was not based on facts, Patnaik and Behera said five questions asked by BJD to the Union Minister are yet to be answered.
Alleging that the Centre is not taking any strong step against Chhattisgarh as it has a BJP Government, the BJD leaders said the Modi Government has adopted a dilly-dallying attitude towards the issue. Stating that BJD has launched a series of agitation against the Centre and Chhattisgarh Government since 2016 to save Mahanadi river, the leaders of the ruling party said the Union Minister has changed his stand on the dispute several times. Pradhan first talked about a joint control board to resolve the issue and then emphasised on negotiation to settle the dispute, said the BJD leaders. Pradhan even announced that a white paper will be issued on the matter. But he has till now not advised the Chhattisgarh Government to stop construction work of ongoing projects or release water to the river during non-monsoon period, they said.
The BJD leaders alleged that the changed stand of the Union Minister is to divert the attention of the people from reality at a time when the influence of BJP was on the wane across the country. Minister for Health and Family Welfare Pratap Jena, party spokesperson Sasmit Patra and president of Biju Chhatra Janata Dal Rana Pratap Patra were present.
