Bhubaneswar: Just a day after the two MPs from Odisha were sworn-in as ministers in Narendra Modi’s cabinet, the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Friday alleged that western Odisha has been neglected in the new ministry.
“We welcome the induction of two BJP leaders from Odisha in the Modi cabinet. Though five Lok Sabha members have been elected from Western Odisha, not a single person was inducted in the Modi’s new council of ministers,” alleged BJD leader and state Rural Development Minister Susanta Singh.
However, he said, six BJD legislators from the western region have been included in Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s council of ministers.
State BJP in-charge Arun Singh said, “It is PM’s prerogative and I thank the PM for making Pratap Sarangi, a coastal leader in Odisha, as Minister of State. Sarangi has come from a poor family and people are happy to see him as a Union Minister.”
As far as Jual Oram is concerned, Singh said, he has worked in various positions including state president and now national vice president and he would continue to work for the organisation.
