All India Mahila Congress president Sobha Oza on Thursday made a scathing attack on the Naveen Patnaik Government, stating that it is a matter of “great shame” that the State Government is using its police force to open fire on the women, who are protesting against spread of liquor.
Referring to last year’s police firing on women protestors at Namtara in Kendrapada district last year, Oza said atrocities against women are continuously increasing in Odisha under the BJD rule.
She was addressing a massive gathering of Congress activists, who later submitted a memorandum to the Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC).
The Congress programme was part of its observation of last week’s International Women’s Day.
The memorandum demanded a complete ban on liquor sale, justice for the women protestors, who were injured in firing at Namtara. It also called for rectifying all anomalies of ration card distribution under the National Food Security Act and launching of special schemes to improve the socioeconomic conditions of women in Odisha.
The memorandum also urged the State Government to refrain from vendetta politics against opposition party leaders.
Besides Oza, State Congress chief Prasad Harichandan, All India Mahila Congress general secretary Varsha Gaikwad, AICC secretary Subhankar Sarkar, former MPs Sushila Tiria and Rama Chandra Khuntia, OPCC general secretary Suresh Mohapatra and City Congress chief Md Moqim addressed the gathering.