Bhubaneswar: The Odisha unit of the Congress Wednesday offered to support the principal Opposition party, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), if it brings a no-confidence motion against the state’s BJP government in the wake of the recent rapes and other crimes against women.
The BJD said its legislative party would take a final decision in this regard before the upcoming assembly session.
OPCC president Bhakta Charan Das, while addressing a press conference here, said, “As the state’s principal Opposition party, the BJD should move a no-confidence motion against the Mohan Charan Majhi government in Odisha over the rising crimes against women. We will support the BJD if it moves such a motion for the greater interest of the state.”
“If the BJD does not bring such a motion, we are prepared to go for it, but let the regional party announce its support to us. If BJD is really worried about the ongoing assaults on women, it should move a no-confidence motion against the BJP government. The need of the hour is to oust the BJP government as it is bringing shame to the state every day,” Das remarked.
Citing the Supreme Court’s recent remarks on the incident of a 15-year-old girl being set on fire in Puri district, Das said that the apex court July 21 used words such as “shame” and “unfortunate” to describe it.
This was said to underscore the need to empower and provide a safe haven to women, especially in rural areas, Das said.
The Odisha Congress chief said that as an Opposition political party, it feels ashamed that such incidents take place in the state.
“However, there seems to be no shame in the BJP government. As the apex court has expressed its serious concern and said ‘they are in shame’, we all should feel ashamed. The state government should also be ashamed of the incident, and the chief minister and his entire cabinet should resign,” Das said.
He said if the chief minister and his ministers do not tender resignations, the Opposition parties should remove them from the government.
Das said the state government has completely failed to protect the women and girls of the state.
So, it doesn’t have any moral right to continue. At least they (the government) should step down, showing respect to the observation of the Supreme Court, Das said.
The Congress leader alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi also do not feel shame over the incidents taking place in Odisha.
“Had that been the case, the Prime Minister would have reacted to the incidents,” Das said.
Replying to a question, the OPCC president said that he does not know whether his call to the BJD would reach the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, Naveen Patnaik.
“He (Patnaik) meets selected persons. I hope our proposal of support to BJD on a no-confidence motion reaches his ears,” he said.
Reacting to Congress’s appeal, BJD senior vice-president Debi Prasad Mishra, at a separate press conference, said, “The BJD has launched a series of protests over the crimes against women. We have staged Secretariat Gherao, demonstrated before all the RDC offices, organised a bandh in Balasore, students and youths held agitations across colleges in the state. We, as the principal Opposition party, have been sincerely meeting our responsibility.”
Asked whether the BJD would bring a no-confidence motion against the BJP government as suggested by the OPCC president, Mishra said, “The BJD legislature party, before the ensuing assembly session, will take a decision in this regard. BJD president Naveen Ji is the leader of the Opposition in the assembly, and the legislature party will take a final call on the matter.”
Mishra, however, claimed that the BJP, during its 13 months of rule in the state, has lost the trust of the people due to bad governance.
In the 147-member Odisha Assembly, the BJP has 78 MLAs, while BJD has 51 and the Congress 14. The House has three Independent MLAs and one from the CPI(M).
Several incidents of crimes against women have been reported in the state in the last two months.
A college student was gang-raped at Gopalpur beach June 15 while she was holidaying during the Raja festival.
July 12, a 20-year-old integrated B.Ed student resorted to self-immolation in Balasore over alleged inaction by college authorities regarding her sexual harassment complaint against a teacher. She died July 14 while undergoing treatment at AIIMS Bhubaneswar. The teacher and principal of the college were arrested and sent to jail.
July 19, a 15-year-old girl was kidnapped and set on fire by three unidentified persons in Puri district. She suffered 70 per cent burn injuries and is undergoing treatment at AIIMS Delhi. No arrests have been made so far.
Besides, three gang-rape cases were reported in Jajpur, Jagatsinghpur and Malkangiri in the last three days.
PTI
