Bhubaneswar: Odisha Minister Suresh Pujari rebutted Naveen Patnaik’s “feasting in Delhi amid flood horrors” jibe at the BJP, saying Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi was discharging “Raj Dharma” by pursuing a resolution to the Mahanadi water dispute with Chhattisgarh in the national capital.
CM Majhi was in Delhi Thursday, where he attended a high-level meeting under the chairmanship of Union Water Resources Minister C R Patil over Mahanadi water distribution and management, which was also attended by Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai.
Seeking to capitalise on Majhi’s absence from Odisha as the state remained on a high alert for floods across the densely populated coastal belt, opposition parties accused the BJP government of lacking sincerity in tackling the calamity.
“Are Odisha’s BJP leaders feasting in Delhi amid the horrors of the floods in the state? While the entire state is reeling from flood conditions due to relentless heavy rain, the CM and BJP’s top leaders and MPs are currently in Delhi,” Leader of Opposition in the assembly Naveen Patnaik had said on social media.
Hitting back, the state’s revenue and disaster management minister asked Patnaik to understand the ground situation before criticising the government.
CM Majhi was in Delhi to attend a tripartite meeting on the Mahanadi water dispute with Chhattisgarh, an issue the previous BJD government of Naveen Patnaik failed to resolve, Pujari said.
“The meeting was chaired by the Union Jal Shakti minister. Chief ministers of both Odisha and Chhattisgarh attended the meeting along with their chief secretaries and other senior officials,” he said, asserting that Majhi was discharging “Raj Dharma”.
He also raised questions on Patnaik’s absence from the ground.
“The people of Odisha had him as chief minister for nearly 25 years. But where is he now when the state needs leadership?” Pujari asked.
He undertook an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas in north Odisha and held review meetings Thursday. The minister said he was in constant touch with MLAs across party lines in the around 20 districts staring at imminent floods.
All people’s representatives and Panchayati Raj department officials are actively working on the ground, he said.
