Pradesh Congress Committee Media Cell chairman Narasingha Mishra on Tuesday strongly condemned the brutal police action on the unarmed peaceful demonstrators in the lower Suktel Irrigation Project site in Balangir district on Monday.
He demanded stringent legal action against the administrative and police officers for the “barbaric and uncivilised attack” on the demonstrators, including women and newsmen.
The Government should pay compensation to the injured persons with all medical expenses and withdraw the cases lodged against the protestors, he said.
Addressing a Press conference here, Mishra alleged the “Hitlerian mindset” of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik proves he has lost faith in democracy, Constitution and rule of law for his political benefits. He said the women of the village complained that they have no tank for their daily use and only depend on the water of the Suktel river. Due to the presence of a large number of police they are not able to use the river water. While they were protesting, they were mercilessly assaulted and injured. Many villagers of Koindapali were neither compensated for the loss of their lands nor rehabilitated. Mishra said the lower Suktel project is the brainchild of the Congress party. The BJD Government had slept over the matter for a period of over 13 years.