Communist Party of India (CPI) national secretary D Raja on Wednesday castigated Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, alleging that his Government has failed to fulfil the people’s expectations and he has been playing cheap politics for long and asked him to show political maturity.
Questioning the morality of the State Government, Raja told reporters here that the Naveen Patnaik Government has framed false charges against left party leaders involved in protests against the Posco project. “In a democracy, everybody has the right to protest. Our people have protested the Posco project and staged demonstrations on various occasion. Unfortunately, the Naveen Patnaik Government framed false charges and cases against them,” Raja told reporters here.
Daring the Chief Minister to explain on the slow progress of the CBI probe into the mega chit fund scam in the State, Raja claimed that due to a secret nexus between the BJD and the BJP central leadership, the CBI probe has slowed. He took on BJD Government over the occupation of Government quarters by former Chief Secretary Bijay Kumar Patnaik even after two years of his superannuation.
“How a person who has already joined a private company still occupies a palatial Government building in the heart of the capital city of BhubaneswarIJ Such thing happens only in Odisha,” rued Raja.
Accusing NDA of “undermining” Parliamentary democracy and concentrating all powers in the Prime Minister’s hands, Raja said the BJP must be defeated in ensuing Bihar Assembly polls. “Ever since BJP-led NDA came to power, Parliamentary democracy has been considerably undermined while all powers are concentrated with Prime Minister. This is dangerous," said Raja. Asking the BJP to remember that India does not have a Presidential form of Government, Raja charged the NDA Government with patronising corporates at the cost of poor farmers and being dictated by the Sangh Parivar outfits.