• Notification Date: 05-12-2022
• Notification No: N/A

Naveen Tallest Leader of Odisha; People Will Reply If You Attack Him: Sasmit Patra to Dharmendra

The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) warned on Saturday that Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan should think twice before making any derogatory comment against Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik as the people of Odisha do not tolerate any attack on their CM.  

Protesting against the verbal attack on the CM by the Union Minister, BJD MP Sasmit Patra said that the people of Odisha will not tolerate any attack on him, and people learnt it the hard way in the 2018 Bijepur by-poll when a BJP person threw chappals at the CM. The people of Bijepur had made BJD victorious with a very high margin as a befitting reply to the attack. And the people of Padampur will again do the same in this attack. 

BJP leaders have been publicly humiliating, insulting, denigrating and using derogatory language against a woman who has lost her father recently, said Patra. He added that the party should have some decency and dignity for an Odia tribal woman who is fighting an election, irrespective of the Party lines. He asked the public whether they should tolerate such indecent and uncivilized behaviour.  

The Central Government has imposed GST on Kendu leaf which is a primary livelihood for the local Odia people. Speaking on the matter, Patra said Odisha CM and Finance Minister have urged the Centre multiple times for withdrawal of 18 per cent GST on Kendu leaf. BJP candidate Pradip Purohit considers himself a leader of the pluckers. But he has never met the Union Finance Minister over Odisha’s demand for the withdrawal of GST. 

Patra also disgraced Pradhan for lying to the people of Padampur over the railway project. He said the Railway department receives Rs 30,000 crore from Odisha. He added that if the Central Government wants Odisha to undertake its own railways, then they should not take the 30,000 Crores that Odisha gives to railways. The people of Odisha will build their own railways with their money, the Rajya Sabha member pointed out. 

The BJD leader also highlighted the CM’s promise during the Bijepur by-election and the immediate implementation of the announcement. 

Naveen Patnaik is the first CM who has regularized contractual employees. BJP Chief Ministers are calling Odisha Government and they are curious about how it has been possible. But, the schemes under the Ministry of Pradhan are all run by contractual employees. Yet they haven’t been able to regularize those contractual posts, Patra highlighted.