Bhubaneswar: BJD president Naveen Patnaik Thursday claimed that several countries have advised their women citizens not to visit Odisha as, he alleged, rapes and murders have become a “daily affair” in the state.
The leader of the Opposition said this to reporters outside the Assembly after making a statement in the House during a discussion on “Participation of Women in Indian Democracy”.
Patnaik, a former chief minister, said, “As you can see, rapes and murders have become a daily affair in the state. Major embassies have told their women citizens not to visit Odisha. Isn’t it a terrible shame for our state?”
A number of cases of rape and murder of women were reported in the state last year.
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“The Bharatiya Janata Party government is not doing anything for women. It is only doing drama,” Patnaik said.
The BJP came to power in the state in June 2024, defeating the BJD, which had governed the state for 24 years.
“The BJP government in the state has no right to speak of women’s dignity and empowerment. Governance has been reduced to narratives and optics,” Patnaik said earlier in the day while taking part in the discussion in the House during a special session.
The session was convened days after a Constitution Amendment Bill to implement 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures in 2029 and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 was defeated in the Lower House of Parliament.
