Bhubaneswar: Hitting back at the Odisha unit of Bharatiya Janata Party for allegedly misguiding the people about the Panchayati Raj Institutions by baseless statements, the ruling Biju Janata Dal said that the true decentralization of power and governance to the PRIs has been done by the BJD under leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
In a statement, BJD MP Dr. Sasmit Patra said, “It seems the BJP is unaware about the strong positive developments and empowerment of PRIs in Odisha”.
The BJD leader said that former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik was the pioneer who brought about 33% reservation for Women in the PRIs in Odisha. Naveen Patnaik increased it to 50% by not only empowering women but also empowering and strengthening the PRIs in Odisha, he added.
Even many BJP ruled States do not have the kind of strong empowerment and powers that have been provided to PRIs in Odisha, Dr. Patra said.
BJP should learn from such bold and positive initiatives rather than indulging in wanton baseless statements, he suggested.
The BJD leader made the remarks in response to the BJP press meet where Odisha BJP president Sameer Mohanty had alleged that the State Government has started weakening the power of panchayats and neglecting the elected PRI members.
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