BJD in 'unholy alliance' with BJP, not raising state's issues

The ruling BJD in Odisha has forged an "unholy alliance" with the BJP and is not raising issues important to the state in Parliament, the Congress said on Monday.

State Congress chief Niranjan Patnaik said, before the elections earlier this year, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik claimed that his party would maintain equal distance from both the BJP and the Congress, but he took a 'U-turn'.

"After the elections, the BJD and the BJP joined hands and are working to the detriment of Odisha's interest. Burning issues that are important to the state are not being raised in Parliament because of the understanding between the two parties," he claimed.

Patnaik said three BJD MPs along with others recently gave notice for discussion in Rajya Sabha on the economic crisis and their names had figured in a revised list of business of the House the next day.

"But, unfortunately, the three parliamentarians representing Odisha did not participate in the discussions," he said.

When Congress MP Saptagiri Ulaka raised the issue relating to the Smitarani death case in Jajpur district during Zero Hour, BJD lawmakers opposed it while BJP members remained silent spectators, Patnaik said.

Referring to the recent election for AIIMS governing body, he said a BJD MP was elected defeating a BJP MP from Odisha though the saffron party's numbers were more than ten times than that of Naveen Patnaik's party.

"All these amply prove that the BJD-BJP combine is based on opportunism. Both are working against the interest of Odisha," Patnaik alleged.