BHUBANESWAR: The BJD on Sunday came down heavily on the state government for downgrading the security cover of leader of Opposition and former chief minister Naveen Patnaik from Z to Y category.
Describing the decision as politically-motivated, the regional outfit demanded immediate restoration of the Z category security to the former chief minister. Expressing concern on the development, senior BJD leader Sanjay Das Burma said the state government must ensure that there is no lapse in the security of Naveen.
“It is the government’s responsibility to ensure there is no compromise on the security of Naveen Patnaik, a five-time chief minister and the present leader of Opposition. The decision to downgrade his security is regrettable,” he said.
Stating that attitude of the state government towards Naveen was very surprising, the BJD leader said, “I hope the BJP government will change the decision and restore the earlier security cover for him.”
However, senior BJP leader and former leader of the Opposition Jayanarayan Mishra said that the decision has been taken as per established rules. “Security is provided as per rule to everyone. There are established criteria to determine who receives Z or Y category security, and the government has simply followed those,” he said.
Mishra also said when he was the leader of the Opposition, he had requested the government to withdraw his security.