ROURKELA: The Opposition BJD and Congress have upped the ante against the BJP government’s move to include the tribal-dominated Sundargarh district in the proposed Northern Odisha Development Council (NODC).
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Sunday had announced that his government was considering to bring Sundargarh under the proposed NODC to expedite development of the district which incidentally is a part of the Western Odisha Development Council (WODC).
BJD’s Sundargarh MLA Jogesh Singh on Tuesday said despite being a responsible constitutional head of the state, the CM has made an irresponsible statement. “We condemn the announcement and urge the CM to withdraw the statement or else the BJP government would be responsible for the law and order situation arising from it.”
Singh further said the language, cultural practices, tradition, way of life and geographical features have no similarities with north Odisha districts. The move smacks of a ploy to weaken the voice and unity of Western Odisha and create division. It also shows the autocratic way of the government to impose the decision as the issue was not consulted with the stakeholders of Sundargarh. “If the CM is concerned about the development of Sundargarh, his government should allocate special financial package and also effectively use the funds of the District Mineral Foundation (DMF),” he said.
On Monday evening, members of Sundargarh district Congress committee (SDCC) held a demonstration at DRDA chowk in Sundargarh town condemning the CM’s statement.
Former general secretary of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Raj Kishore Sarangi, former SDCC president BM Tripathy and senior party leader Nimai Naik claimed that Sundargarh has always been neglected by the BJP government at the Centre. While the long-standing demand for setting up Odisha’s second AIIMS at Sundargarh town was ignored, the BJP government in Odisha is now conspiring to separate the district from Western Odisha.
They further said ignoring the legitimate demand to shift the WODC headquarter from Bhubaneswar to Western Odisha, the BJP government’s attempt to take out Sundargarh from WODC and include it in the proposed NODC would create division.
Talking on the sidelines of the launch of the third phase of Subhadra Yojana at Sundargarh town, Majhi had announced the plan to include Sundargarh in the NODC to expedite development of the district at a fast pace. “A task force has been formed under the leadership of a cabinet minister and in the coming days, a decision would be taken if Sundargarh would be kept in the WODC or made a part of the NODC. Sundargarh’s inclusion in the NODC would result in socio-economic development of the district,” he said.