The BJP on Tuesday hit out at Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for not providing police security to senior party leader and Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan during his visit to Malkangiri on Monday and termed the development as a ‘political conspiracy’.
BJP legislature Party leader KV Singh Deo told reporters here that Pradhan was not provided security during his tour of the Japanese Encephalitis-hit district at the behest of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
“We (Along with Pradhan) visited the district without any State police personnel. When we started from a BSF camp to Palkonda village, there were two police escort vehicles for the Minister. But after covering a distance of around two km, the escort vehicles pulled up to the side and stayed back. After we arrived at the guesthouse, neither the Collector nor the SP met the Union Minister,” said Singh Deo, who was part of a five-member BJP team accompanying the Union Minister.
“The State Government should have at least maintained the security protocol provided to a Union Minister,” said Singh Deo.
Party State president Basanta Panda said that though the Malkangiri SP assured security prior to the Minister’s visit, he discarded it after the Minister reached the district.
The issue would be intimated to the Union Home Ministry, said Singh Deo.
He also came down heavily on the Chief Minister for not visiting Malkangiri. “It is unfortunate that the Chief Minister has time to roam around several places to inaugurate development projects, but he has no time to visit Malkangiri till now,” he stated.
Singh Deo claimed that nearly 150 children have died of the deadly JE virus in Malkangiri district so far while nearly 400 children have been killed in other disease like malaria and dengue and also due to malnutrition in last few months.