BHUBANESWAR: The Biju Mahila Janata Dal on Tuesday staged a dharna in front of the Raj Bhavan here alleging neglect by the Centre in allotting houses to beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) scheme. The protest was led by Rajya Sabha MP Sulata Deo and Bhubaneswar mayor Sulochana Das.
Alleging that eight BJP MPs from the state had met Union Panchayati Raj Minister Giriraj Singh to submit a representation to stop the PMAY in Odisha, Deo said they should be ashamed for trying to deprive the poor of their rights. “Fifteen lakh homes is our right. The BJP has deprived us of our rights. We have come here to demand the same,” she added.
Earlier, BJD MLAs also protested in the Assembly during the zero hours over central negligence in providing houses under the PMAY. Soon after the completion of the question hour, BJD members staged a protest by alleging that the Centre neglected Odisha in allotting houses under PMAY.