BHUBANESHWAR: While the situation in Bhadrak slowly limped back to normalcy, the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) on Saturday demanded a high-level administrative inquiry to probe the reason behind the communal tension and identify those who fomented it.
Asking the State government to take strong steps against the perpetrators who helped the arson spread, OPCC president Prasad Harichandan said measures should also be initiated to ensure that the tension does not spread to other areas.
Harichandan called upon the townspeople to forget their animosity against each other and defeat the designs of vested interests to create unrest among the people. Stating that a feeling of peace and brotherhood always prevailed in Bhadrak town, Harichandan said attempts to divide people into religious lines would not succeed.
Leader of the opposition, Narasingh Mishra also asked the State government to take stringent legal action against the perpetrators to restore peace among the people. Alleging that some political groups and individuals encouraged the situation to deteriorate to derive political gains from it, Mishra condemned such attempts.
He called upon the people to restore peace and brotherhood by respecting the tradition of secularism. Congress chief whip in the Assembly Tara Prasad Bahinipati, without naming any political party, alleged that those trying to come to power by creating unrest will not succeed.
Several BJD leaders, including Kendrapara MP Baijayant Panda and BJD spokesperson Pratap Deb also called upon the people to maintain peace and brotherhood.