The BJP Legislature Party on Saturday demanded in a letter to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik that the State Government publish a whitepaper on the actual figurers of Covid deaths in the State.
The party also demanded that all family members of the Covid deceased be provided with ex-gratia on the basis of the National Disaster Management Act-2005.
It also demanded that for the larger interest of the people, the Government should implement the Ayushman Bharat Yojana.
Speaking to the media, Opposition Chief Whip in the State Assembly Mohan Majhi (BJP) said that because of the unverified data, many orphan children and family members of Covid death victims are deprived of the compensation and benefits of schemes of both the State and Central Governments.
Majhi pointed out that Odisha was the first State to declare Covid-19 as a ‘disaster’ under the NDMA Act-2005. Therefore, following the frameworks of the States like Assam, Rajasthan and Bihar, the Odisha Government should announce ex-gratia to the deceased’ kin.
He alleged that while people in other States are getting benefits under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, the Naveen Patnaik Government is not implementing the scheme only for political reasons.
Besides Majhi, the other BJP MLAs who signed the letter to the CM were Nauri Nyak, Lalitendu Bidyadhar Mahapatra, Subash Panigrahy, Shankar Oram, Dr Mukesh Mahalinga, Bhabai Bhoi, Dr Budhan Murmu and Naba Charan Majhi.