BHUBANESWAR: Leader of Opposition and BJD president Naveen Patnaik strongly condemned the attack on former Dharmasala MLA Pranab Balabantaray in broad daylight on Sunday.
In a post on X, the former chief minister said, “In the presence of police, a public representative is being attacked with intent to kill. Who is giving courage to criminals? Is rule of law or Gundaraj prevailing in Odisha? In this government, public representatives are unsafe, safety of common people has collapsed,” he alleged.
Naveen said such incidents are happening repeatedly in Dharmasala and across Odisha. “Does the government wants a peaceful Odisha to become disturbed?” he questioned.
Stating that people of Odisha are watching everything, he said they will give a befitting reply to such anarchy and misgovernance.
BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said, “The law and order has collapsed in Odisha. This brutal attack on a former MLA in broad daylight shows that criminals have no fear of law,” he added.