In a rare move that could pose as an alarm to the Naveen Patnaik Government, leaders from 16 opposition parties buried their differences to put up a united force against Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s alleged slipshod attitude in facilitating a political consensus to take on the Chhattisgarh and Central Governments on the Mahanadi water dispute issue.
Around 50 leaders from Congress, BJP, CPI, CPI(M), CPI(Ml) liberation, TMC, RJD, NCP, Samrudhha
Odisha, Aam Odisha, RPI, CPI(Ml), Vibrat Odisha, Kalinga Sena, Forward Bloc, SUCI and many civil societies and farmers’ bodies gathered here at a city-based hotel and attended an all-party meeting on the Mahanadi dispute convened by Congress leader and leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra.
“It was decided in the meeting that a committee will be formed taking members of the all the party which participated in the meeting in seven days which will decide the future course of action. We will meet Governor and submit a memorandum to the President through him on Mahanadi issue,” said Mishra after the meeting.
“We demand a Whitepaper on the Hirakud Dam. The Government should inform people the actual status of the reservoir, damage caused or to be caused due to construction of dams upstream the Mahanadi by Chhattisgarh Government and Odisha’s measures taken on several occasions on Hirakud,” said Mishra.
“As per the 1983 bilateral agreement between Odisha and MP, a joint control commission should be set up. The CM should press the Centre to set up a tribunal on the Mahanadi issue. If the State writes to Centre for a tribunal, the Centre is bound to write to the Supreme Court on this. The tribunal is bound to submit its report within three months,” said Mishra.
The ruling BJD, however, criticised the meeting presided over by Mishra and questioned the absence of PCC president Prasad Harichandan and BJP State president Basanta Panda.
“It was not at all an all-party meeting as claimed by Mishra. The State presidents of both Congress and BJP did not attend the meeting. If it was an all-party meeting then why didn’t they turn upIJ” questioned BJD spokesman Pratap Keshari Deb.
Out of the 16 Congress MlAs 14 were present at the meeting, including Narasingha Mishra. BJP leaders KV Singh Deo, Pradip Purohit, Bijay Mohapatra also attended the meeting.