Inaugurating an extended executive meeting of
the Samata Kranti Dal held under the chairmanship of Gayadhar
Mallick here last week, party founder and former Union Ministe
Braja Kishore Tripathy said the BJP-led Government at the Centre
has become a stupendous failure in providing good governance to the
people.
The people are reeling under the skyrocketing of market prices; the
problem of unemployment has become acute; farmers are on the road
for having a reasonable sale price tag to their produces; hunger-
stricken labourers are migrating to other places; the health and
education sectors are in doldrums, he said.
In such a prevailing scenario, the Central Government is engaged in
dividing the country in the name of religion, Tripathy alleged, adding
that the groups which once opposed the freedom struggle of India
now claim to be nationalist.
In the same vein he opined that the BJD Government in Odisha is the
most corrupt one in the country. The CAG of India in his report has
exposed State Government’s corruptions. The State Government has
its share in the loot of iron ore, coal and bauxite. The corruption in
MGNREGA and supply of substandard rice to the poor, supply of
food for children and dal scam, supply of duplicate medicines and
failure in all the departments have made people restless.
Tripathy also observed that crores of rupees of common men in the
chit fund scam have been plundered, wherein a dozen of Ministers
and MLAs are directly or indirectly involved. Lack of action on the
recommendation of the Shah Commission has exposed the nexus
between the State and Central Governments. The CBI investigation
into the chit fund scam is moving at a snail’s pace.
Coming heavily upon the State Government’s Lokayukta Act, he
pointed out that this law is toothless since it does not allow the
Vigilance department to come under its ambit and has no recognition
for the citizen’s rights.
Tripathy also criticised the Congress in the State for having failed in
providing the role of a responsible opposition party and observed that
the people of the State are getting ready for a change. He welcomed
the Odisha Jana Morcha Party for its decision to merge with the
Odisha Samata Kranti Dal. He exhorted all other splinter political
parties including the Leftist ones to fight in a combined way against
the status quo.
At the outset, Sarada Prasanna Swain had delivered the welcome
address while secretary general of the party Pravat Samantray
presented the annual report. Gayadhar Mallick was re-chosen as the
president of the party while Pravat Samntray became its secretary
general. Advocate Diganta Dey, Ghenu Muduli, Aren Pani, Madan
Nanda were elected as vice-presidents and Pramod Kumar Sahoo and
Saroj Kumar Satpathy as secretaries.