BHUBANESWAR: The BJD on Wednesday demanded the resignation of Law minister Prithiviraj Harichandan in connection with the alleged mismanagement during Rath Yatra which resulted in the death of three devotees in a stampede near Gundicha temple.
Stating that there was widespread chaos and mismanagement, party spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said the state government completely failed to manage the situation. “The congregation of more crowd cannot be an excuse for such type of unfortunate incident. The government should have been prepared to manage the crowd,” he added.
Mohanty further criticised the Law minister, who is in charge of the Rath Yatra, for shifting the blame and making contradictory statements instead of taking responsibility for the failure. Accusing Harichandan of being arrogant and insensitive to the concerns of the devotees, Das demanded that the former either resign from his position or be removed from the cabinet by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi for his failure to manage the chariot festival.
The BJD spokesperson also reiterated the demand for arrest of BJD leader Jagannath Pradhan, who he alleged was the main conspirator behind the assault of BMC additional commissioner Ratnakar Sahoo. Stating that the incident has brought shame and embarrassment to the state, Mohanty alleged that the government was shielding Pradhan due to his affiliation with the BJP.