Congress workers march towards Odisha Secretariat stopped by police

Bhubaneswar: Thousands of Congress activists on Monday marched towards the Odisha Secretariat to protest against the alleged "misrule" of the BJD government in the state but were stopped by the police.

Congress workers and several leaders including AICC in-charge of Odisha Ajoy Kumar, state Congress president Sarat Pattanayak and former OPCC presidents Jaydev Jena and Prasad Harichandan participated in the march from Congress Bhawan towards the state secretariat.

However, the police force deployed at Lower PMG stopped them resulting in a face-off between the Congress workers and police. When the Congress workers tried to march towards the secretariat after breaking down the police barricade, the police forcefully took the party leaders and workers including its president in a van. Later, they were released. Speaking to media persons, Ajoy Kumar alleged that Odisha has become a "crime capital" during the BJD rule.

"The BJD has formed a gang of politicians to loot the state. The BJD has sold the state to outsiders. BJD has gifted forest land and valuable land to BJP. Like PPP (private-public partnership), Pandian-Pradhan Commission (PPC) is running the state," he alleged. The healthcare service is "deplorable" in Odisha while 60 per cent of gram panchayats don't have internet connection. A huge number of teacher posts are lying vacant in schools, Kumar said.

As the BJD government has failed to provide employment, 30 lakh people migrated to other states for livelihood, he added.

Pattanayak targeted the BJD and BJP over unemployment, price hike, law and order problems and corruption.

"BJD and BJP are like brothers and are looting the mineral resources of the state. What the BJP is instructing, the BJD is doing it. The BJD has again given one Rajya Sabha seat to BJP to elect Ashwini Vaishnaw", alleged the state Congress president.

"Congress is the only alternative and it is fighting for the people. I appeal to the people of Odisha to remove the 25-year BJD government from Odisha in the upcoming election," he said.

Congress MLA Taraprasad Bahinipati alleged poor, dalits and tribals are "exploited" by the BJD government.

State Congress' women wing chief Meenakshi Bahinipati alleged that atrocities against women are on the rise during the present government.