BHUBANESWAR: The silence of the State Government over the delay by the Centre in announcing Central assistance for Odisha for cyclonic storm Hud Hud, which affected eight districts, has come in for sharp criticism from the Congress.
The anti-Centre stance of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has been diluted, Leader of the Opposition Narasingh Mishra said and asked the reason behind the volte-face after the Parliamentary elections.
Though the public stand of the BJD is to maintain equi-distance from the BJP and the Congress, the BJD seems to be trying to get closer to the BJP, Mishra said. When UPA was in power at the Centre, the BJD was taking to the streets at the slightest pretext. But what has happened now, why the party is completely silent, he asked and added that this may be because of the ongoing CBI probe into the chit fund scam.
“Is the Chief Minister afraid of the ongoing CBI probe into the chit fund scam,” Mishra asked.
Besides, the State Government has also failed to submit the memorandum to the Centre with details of the loss due to cyclone Hud Hud. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had announced that the State Government will soon submit a memorandum to the Centre seeking assistance for post- cyclone reconstruction and restoration measures. Though more than three weeks have elapsed, the memorandum is yet to be submitted.
It was expected that Naveen would submit the memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his current New Delhi visit. But there will be no meeting between both the leaders this time.
During his meeting with Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in New Delhi on Wednesday, Naveen demanded release of interim assistance of `500 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for Hud Hud. Jaitley has assured that he will look into the issue.