Bhubaneswar: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday fired salvos against the ruling BJD government in the state and accused the incumbent Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik of doing the tall talk of reservation for them in legislatures whereas women in the state are not safe.
Addressing a presser, party spokesperson Lekhasri Samantsinghar told reporters that while the crime statistics hint at Odisha government’s failure to tackle cases of crime against women, the BJD government is on a mission to claim that it is concerned about women’s rights.
She said, “While the Chief Minister is bragging about reservation to women, he is oblivious of their security in the light of increasing incidents of crimes against them? In the 19-year-r ule of the BJD government, the most neglected section is the women.”
The BJP leader also said the government did very little to safeguard the interests of women and the safety of women voters in the state. She also accused the BJD government of diverting the attention of the electorate from the condition of women in the state by boasting about reservations during elections.
“The state government has accepted in the Assembly that 12 minor girls residing in hostels have been made pregnant out of which four have given birth to offsprings. In 2017-18, 445 girls from the SC and ST communities faced sexual harassment. The claim of the Chief Minister about women safety is against the data provided by the government, said Lekhasri.
As per NCRB data, incidents of disrobing of women in the state had been alarmingly higher than in other states. Odisha is also among the leading states wherein cases of abuse against women are higher. The BJP leader also took a dig at the government for its failure to take care of the health of children and women in the state.
“Maternal deaths and infant mortality rate in the state are one of the highest in the country. Koraput, Bolangir, Boudh, Nabarangpur and Mayurbhanj districts still have around 40 per cent undernourished children. More than 50 per cent of the state’s women are anaemic,” she added.
