BHUBANESWAR: The support extended to the Srimandir Parikrama project by BJP MLA from Puri Jayant Sarangi has come in for sharp criticism from senior party leader and former union minister Jual Oram who said that the legislator seems to be under some pressure.
Stating that construction works going on near the Jagannath temple are illegal, Oram expressed unhappiness over Sarangi’s statement urging people not to politicise the issue. “He seems to be under pressure. The State president of the party should have a word with him,” he added.
Though several senior leaders of the party including Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi and national spokesperson Sambit Patra have targeted the Odisha government for going ahead with the construction works violating the laws, Sarangi had called upon the State and the Centre to work in close coordination to complete the work.
Oram’s observation has come a day after Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that the beautification work under the project should be taken up within the confines of the existing laws of the land.The Sundargarh MP also came down heavily on BJD MP from Puri Pinaki Mishra for giving wrong information about the project in the Parliament. “Mishra has given wrong information in Parliament that some toilets are being constructed. But a lot of illegal constructions are going on,” he added.
Oram said that the State unit of the party will apprise the Central leadership about the illegalities of the project. State president Sameer Mohanty and national spokesperson Sambit Patra have already visited the project site and they will take up the issue with the Centre, he added.
Stating that the State government should immediately stop work in view of the ASI’s joint inspection report which said that the project work is being carried out without permission from competent authority, Oram alleged that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is being deliberately kept in the dark.