Veteran Congress leader Mr Narasingha Mishra on Wednesday charged both the ruling BJD and the BJP of indulging in political…
Mr Narasingha Mishra.
Veteran Congress leader Mr Narasingha Mishra on Wednesday charged both the ruling BJD and the BJP of indulging in political games at the cost of the farmers and people of Odisha as far as the Mahanadi water dispute is concerned.
Talking to reporters , Mishra who is also the Leader of Opposition, said the protests by the BJD was disgusting. The ruling party which is primarily responsible to ensure smooth functioning of the assembly was the one which stalled proceedings.
When the Opposition does it , they criticise and denounce saying question hour should not be stalled. What did they( BJD) do on Wednesday, he quipped. Mishra hammered his point in by underscoring that two all party committees had been formed on the Mahanadi issue, one is headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and the other by the Speaker of the Assembly.
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All political parties including the BJP were one on the issue. But both these committees have not met till date. This exposes the sincerity of the BJD and the Chief Minister, he charged.
If they were truly sincere , they should have convened meetings of the committee to discuss and work out ways to safeguard the interest of the state. They did not do so. Both the BJD and BJP are only interested in keeping the dispute alive to try and reap electoral dividend.
They do not bother about the state or its farmers, he alleged. Mishra also blamed the central government in this regard and said first, the centre did not concede to the demand for a Tribunal and even violated the inter state river water dispute act.
It was forced to fulfill Odisha’s demand after the Supreme Court asked it to do so. Now it is delaying the functioning of the Tribunal to allow Chhattisgarh to work on the barrages and check flow of water.
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