BJP slams admin for ignoring ZP chief

BARIPADA: The BJP on Thursday slammed the ruling BJD and the district administration for not inviting Zilla Parishad president Sujata Murmu to the Mission Shakti convention held at Chhau Ground here on Wednesday.

The saffron party leaders staged a protest in front of the Collectorate and accused Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik of being anti-tribal. The BJP district president, Krushna Chandra Mohapatra, alleged that Naveen is giving false assurances to women SHGs. He said in 2013, the Chief Minister had assured the women SHGs that his Government would provide them `10,000 each. However, only a few SHGs got assistance while the majority were deprived of it, the BJP leader said. He said the Chief Minister has always ignored the people of Mayurbhanj, a tribal-dominated district.

Mohapatra said Naveen’s assurance to upgrade Mayurbhanj Ayurvedic College is a hoax as he had made the same promise while campaigning for the 2014 polls. He said the district unit of BJP had submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister on numerous occasions to address the problems plaguing the Ayurvedic College but nothing has yet been done in this regard. “The Chief Minister has no idea of the schemes that he launches,” Mohapatra alleged. He said the State Government has transferred money from its emergency fund for extending assistance to farmers under Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme.

The BJP leader further alleged that funds meant for SC and ST development are being misappropriated due to which ITDA has been paralysed in the district. Zilla Parishad president Sujata Murmu vented her ire on the district administration, which, she said, extended the invitation for attending the Mission Shakti convention a day after the event.