BHUBANESWAR: The deadly attack on a minor girl by a group of miscreants who set her on fire in Balanga area of Puri district on Saturday morning drew severe condemnation from the Opposition BJD and the Congress which attributed the incident to a systemic failure of governance.
In a strongly-worded statement, leader of Opposition and BJD president Naveen Patnaik expressed his anguish over the shocking incident and squarely blamed the administration for turning the state unsafe for women and girls while making it a haven for criminals under political patronage.
“Deeply anguished to know that a young girl was set on fire in Balanga area of Puri district. This attempt to kill her happened in broad daylight. I strongly condemn this horrible act,” Naveen’s X post said.
He said the Puri incident happened just within a week of the terrible incident of a young girl setting herself ablaze in Balasore’s FM Autonomous College after she was denied justice even after knocking every door, and a month after the horrific gangrape of a woman in Gopalpur.
Naveen attacked the state government by stating that such unthinkable incidents against women are now being reported almost daily across the state.
“These are not stray cases of violence. These incidents occurring with shocking regularity point to a deep systemic failure of governance. It shows that criminals have become emboldened under the present government and are not worried about being punished,” he said and added that the state is becoming highly unsafe for women due to government inaction and political patronage.
“Will the Odisha government wake up from this deep slumber and take speedy action so that the criminals are arrested? And, more importantly, will the government respond so that such incidents are not repeated? The girls and women of Odisha await a response,” he remarked. OPCC president Bhakta Charana Das targeted the state government for the deteriorating law and order and increasing atrocities against girls and women.
“If such incidents continue to happen frequently, it indicates that the government and administration have become ineffective. Students and women are unsafe in the state, and criminals no longer fear the government, administration or police,” he said in a social media post.
