BHUBANESWAR: State Law minister Prithiviraj Harichandan hit back at BJD president Naveen Patnaik over his demand for resignation of Union Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, saying his remarks appeared to be driven by political compulsion.
He asked Naveen to instead reflect on the BJD rule in Odisha during which question paper leaks and criminalisation of politics had become institutionalised. Alleging that the BJD government was completely under the shadow of corruption including the chit fund scam, Harichandan said recruitment had come to standstill during Naveen’s rule.
The minister said the BJP government has raised the upper age limit for government jobs to 42 years to provide unemployed youth with another opportunity to compete for public sector employment.
Stating that the agitation launched in New Delhi on the issue of question paper leaks now has no relevance after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced strong action against the culprits, Harichandan said parties like AAP and Left who do not have any existence now are fomenting violence for political benefit.
BJP MLA Babu Singh also came down heavily on the former chief minister saying during his tenure there were question paper leaks in various examinations in 2015, 2018, 2029 and 2022. The former chief minister was silent then, he said.
Stating that the Union Education minister is committed to bring reforms in the education sector, Singh said the BJD president is only trying to divert attention from his party’s condition.
