BHUBANESWAR: The BJD on Wednesday lashed out at the BJP government for discontinuing several schemes launched by the previous Naveen Patnaik-led government foar welfare of tribals.
BJD MPs Niranjan Bisi and Sasmit Patra and media coordinator Priyabrata Majhi described the BJP government as anti-tribal for dissolving all the 23 special development councils (SDCs) created by the previous government. The tribal people benefited under the SDCs, but the BJP government stopped it, they said.
The BJD leaders also came down heavily on the BJP government for stopping LABHA (Laghu Bana Jata Drabya Kraya) Yojana, a fully state-funded initiative to provide minimum support price for minor forest produce, which was launched by the previous government in January, 2024.
Countering the allegations, BJP spokesperson Anil Biswal said in the past, the BJD government had tried to seize tribal land which was retracted following opposition from the saffron party. “The then Naveen Patnaik government was forced to withdraw an ordinance in this regard following opposition by the BJP,” he said.
Biswal also referred to the violent incidents involving tribal communities during land acquisition in Kalinga Nagar. He said, “All the BJD leaders lost elections in the scheduled areas in the elections. This indicates that the tribal people rejected the BJD.”