BHUBANESWAR: BJP on Tuesday raised the ante against the BJD government demanding resignation of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik over his failure to protect his cabinet colleague and former minister Naba Kishore Das and the ‘shoddy’ investigation by the Crime Branch in the murder case.
Launching its three-day agitation against the deteriorating law and order situation from the state capital, the saffron party hit the streets staging demonstrations at five strategic locations of the city to voice its anger against spate of murder across the state involving politicians of the ruling BJD.
“Around 4.5 crore people of the state are feeling unsafe more so after the daylight murder of a powerful BJD minister by a police officer on duty in full public glare. The state’s descent into lawlessness is precisely due to inefficient administration under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He has lost moral right to continue in office after the murder of Das,” said BJP MP Basanta Panda before police took him into preventive custody.
Panda was picketing at AG Square along with Opposition chief whip in Assembly Mohan Majhi, district unit president Babu Singh, party spokesperson Dilip Mohanty, Jagannath Pradhan and others.Similar demonstrations by BJP leaders were also organised at Jaydev Vihar, Palasuni, Khandagiri and Samantarapur Chhak.
Reiterating his party demand for a CBI probe into the murder case, Majhi told reporters that his party will intensify the agitation across the state. As the BJP agitations created traffic problem in the city, the Commissionerate Police took all senior leaders of the party into preventive custody to be released later on.
The party will hold similar demonstrations in all district headquarters on Wednesday demanding the CM’s resignation and on the third day, the BJP will stage dharna near Raj Bhawan on Thursday.