Cong demands special package, apology on Mahanadi issue

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Bhubaneswar: Welcoming Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Odisha May 26 , Pradesh Congress Committee president Niranjan Patnaik Wednesday demanded a special package of `1 lakh crore for irrigation and water resources sector of the state.
The Prime Minister should also stop all construction work undertaken by the Chhatisgarh government on the upper stream of Mahanadi river till the Tribunal constituted for the purpose comes out with its suggestion and also direct the Chhattisgarh government to release water stopped by it, Patnaik told newsmen here Wednesday.
The Congress chief also slammed the Prime Minister for allowing the illegal and arbitrary action of Chhatisgarh government in unilaterally constructing barrages on Mahanadi blocking the free flow of its water to Odisha and demanded an apology to the people of the state at the public meeting in Cuttack May 26.
The Prime Minister is scheduled to address a public meeting at the historic Baliyatra ground on the completion of four years in office.
Stating that development must be above party politics, the Odisha Congress Chief said the Prime Minister should announce at the Cuttack meeting a package of Rs. 1 lakh crore in three years for construction of irrigation projects in Odisha to benefit the farmers who are suffering a lot.
The senior Congress leader said Mahanadi is an inter-state river and no construction can be made on it without mutual consent .The people of Odisha, he said, will expect from Modi to admit the wrongdoing of Chhatisgarh in constructing dams and barrages without the consent of Odisha government.
The Odisha Congress chief further said during the inauguration of Paradip Oil Refinery, the Prime Minister had announced that it would provide one lakh jobs in Odisha.
“Let the Prime Minister now disclose at the Cuttack meeting how many jobs have been created by the IOCL for the people of Odisha during the last four years.”
Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra said that Modi should also clarify about the promise he had made about jobs for 2 crore youth every year, increasing paddy MSP by one- anda-half times against the production cost, `15lakh cash in bank accounts of citizens by recovering black money and the `107crore spent by the petroleum ministry for advertisements in a year till September 2017.
BJP state leader Sajjan Sharma, however, hit back at the Congress leaders stating that the reaction of the leaders is a sign of their ‘frustration’ in the backdrop of their party’s repeated rejection in elections.