BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Monday hit out at leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik for not attending the ongoing winter session of the Assembly and participating in any discussion in the House.
Majhi made the remark in response to Naveen’s jibe at the BJP government describing it as an “empty vessel” during his reply to the debate on Appropriation Bill to the supplementary budget. The Assembly passed the Appropriation Bill for the additional supplementary budget amounting to Rs 17,440 crore through voice vote.
The chief minister said Naveen is the leader of Opposition but has found no time to spare for the Assembly. “The House has been in session for nine days. How many days has the LoP attended? How much time has he spent and how many debates has he participated to hold the government accountable?” Majhi asked.
The chief minister further said, “It would have been a different issue if the LoP has some health problems. But, if he could visit Nuapada for campaigning during the recent bypoll, how can he stay away from the Assembly when it is in session.”
Majhi said, postings on social media won’t bring development. In a parliamentary democracy all members have got the right to participate and criticise the government, but they also need to attend the Assembly sessions.
Naveen attended the winter session once when President Droupadi Murmu visited the Assembly and addressed the House and for the second time to participate in Appropriation Bill discussion. However, the BJD members walked out during the CM’s reply.
After walking out of the Assembly, the BJD chief told mediapersons that the BJP government has performed miserably so far as plan expenditure is concerned. “I feel sorry to say it is not my remark alone. Many people in our state say that no expenditure is being made by the government for their development. This is a very sad thing to report,” Naveen said.
Infra development key to achieve prosperous Odisha goal by 2036: CM
“Time and again this has been brought to the attention of the state government that there must be some expenditure for the development of the people of this state, but they seem to be totally neglectful about this.
Everyone is suffering. It is like they are playing on empty vessels. As you all know empty vessels make much noises and that is what they are satisfied with” he remarked.
In his reply to the debate on the Bill, the chief minister said the annual budget is not just a yearly financial statement but a roadmap for state development.
“We aim to build a prosperous Odisha by 2036 and contribute to a developed India by 2047. Infrastructure development is key to achieving the goal along with creating jobs and driving economic growth,” he added.