BJD burns effigy of Raman Singh over Mahanadi dispute

The ruling BJD in Odisha today burnt an effigy of Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh as part of its protest against the construction of projects on the upstream of the Mahanadi river.
Bhubaneswar Mayor and BJD general secretary Ananta Narayan Jena led the protest and said the party would continue its stir till the Mahanadi issue was resolved.
BJD MLA Priyadarshi Mishra and other senior leaders also joined the agitation at the Master Canteen Square here.
As the Chhattisgarh government had not stopped the construction activities on the upstream of the Mahanadi, despite several requests, the BJD was forced to burn the effigy of Singh, said Mishra.

The BJD leaders also accused the NDA government of being "hand-in-glove" with the Chhattisgarh government and said it was the "Constitutional responsibility" of the Centre to direct the latter to stop the construction work, at least till the formation of a tribunal. But, they alleged that it had not taken any step in this regard.
"BJP president Amit Shah visited the state yesterday. BJP leaders criticised the state government on various grounds. But, no one raised two of the major issues -- Mahanadi and Polavaram -- at the meeting. This shows their real face," Jena said.