CM quits Bijepur: BJP calls it an insult to W Odisha

BHUBANESWAR:  Resignation of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik from Bijepur Assembly seat on Sunday has come in for sharp criticism from the BJP with Sambalpur MLA Jayanarayan Mishra saying this is an insult to Western Odisha.“The people of Bijepur failed to understand as to why the Chief Minister resigned from the seat which elected him with a good margin. He (Naveen) has been playing with the sentiment of the people of Bijepur,” Mishra told reporters here.

Describing the Chief Minister’s decision unfortunate, Mishra said the former contested election from Bijepur to show the people that he is equally concerned for Western Odisha. He announced a special package of `1,330 crore for Bijepur Assembly constituency three days before his resignation which shows that it is one of his strategy to entice the people before the by-election to the seat.

The Chief Minister had announced a similar mega package for Bijepur that saw his party candidate make a landslide victory in February 2018 by-poll, he said.“There is nothing new in the new package announced by the Chief Minister. He is trying to  hoodwink the people. This, for me, is the first deceptive game of the CM in his fifth term,” Mishra said.

Claiming that not a single project of the 2017 package has been grounded, the Sambalpur legislator sought to know the status of the much-hyped Gangadhar Meher Lift Canal System project which was intended to irrigate a gross command area of about 32,000 hectares (ha), including 25,600 ha in Kharif and 7,000 hectares in Rabi season. The project was estimated to cost `1,246 crore.

Drawing a comparison with the Centre, Mishra said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given several projects including an airport at Jharsuguda to Western Odisha. Apart from setting up an Indian Institute of Management in Sambalpur, VSS Medical College and Hospital has been developed into super speciality hospital. Another medical college and hospital is coming up at Sundargarh and state-run Bharat Petroleum has announced to establish an ethanol plant in Bargarh district.

He dared the Chief Minister to give a list of projects which his government has executed in the western region during the last 19 years.Responding to Mishra, Health and Family Welfare Minister Naba Kishore Das said the people of Bijepur understand the CM’s compulsion of resigning from this seat. They still love him as the Chief Minister has ensured all round development of Bijepur.