Congress holds 'Jana Jagaran Yatra' against BJD 'misrule' in Odisha

Stepping up its attack on the BJD regime in Odisha, the Congress held a rally in Sundargarh district on Sunday accusing it of failing on all fronts and said partymen must unite to put an end to the "misrule" of the Naveen Patnaik government.

The rally, christened 'Jana Jagaran Yatra,' started from Karamdihi and covered a distance of over eight kilometres before it culminated at Congress Bhawan at Adarsh Nagar in Sundargarh, before passing through three villages Jagatgarh, Faguapara and Bhojpur.

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All through the rally, leaders tried to impress upon the people about alleged wrong doings of the BJD government and to have confidence in the Congress.

Addressing the participants, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee President, Prasad Harichandan, came down heavily on the BJD government accusing it of being one of the most corrupt regimes the state has witnessed.

Harichandan also called upon Congress workers and leaders to come together and shed personal differences to ensure the victory of the party in the next elections.

Recalling that Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi had led a 'Save Farmers March' in Bargarh district in western Odisha on September 10 last year, the PCC chief said rattled by Gandhi's yatra, Naveen Patnaik as also Prime Minister Narendra Modi later addressed the farmers in the region.

However, BJD and BJP were not at all concerned about the well being of the farmers and were simply trying to 'mislead' the people, Harichandan said.

Speaking in similar vein, Leader of Opposition in Odisha Assembly, Narasingha Mishra lashed out at BJD regime.

He said there was no major investments in the state, the government was just hoodwinking people by signing MOUs.

"Beyond the MOUs, nothing has happened. We are just being cheated," said Mishra and also emphasised the necessity of staying united for victory of the party, saying the yatra aimed at making people aware of misrule of the BJD regime.

Senior Congress leaders also raised issues like the multi-crore chit fund scam, farmers' suicide and irregularities in implementation of the National Food Security Act (NFSA).

AICC secretary Subhankar Sarkar, former chief minister Hemananda Biswal, senior leader Kishore Patel, Congress MLAs from Sundergarh district Prafulla Majhi and Jogendra Singh were among those who joined the Yatra.