Congress, BJP demand Naveen's statement on Bengaluru rape case

Opposition Congress and BJP in Odisha today demanded a statement from Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on the alleged sexual assault of a 6-year-old Odia girl in Bengaluru.

The issue was raised during Zero Hour in the Assembly by Congress member Naba K Das who demanded a ruling from the Speaker directing Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to speak to his Karnataka counterpart.

Congress MLA from Talasara Prafulla Majhi demanded that a secretary level officer of the state be sent to Bengaluru for fact-finding and report back to the House on the matter.

Das thanked Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra for taking up the matter with the Karnataka Chief Minister.

BJD member Amar Satpathy and BJP member Pradeep Purohit also expressed concern over the incident.

"The state government is not at all concerned over the matter. It must take up the matter with the Karnataka Government," Purohit said.

Bikram Keshari Arukh, state Parliamentary Affairs minister informed the House that state government has taken up the issue with all seriousness.

Odisha's home secretary has spoken with his Karnataka counterpart and is in touch with the Odia association at Bengaluru while putting pressure on the Karnataka government for immediate action against the guilty, he said.