BJD criticizes Odisha BJP govt over new secretariat, Assembly building project

The Opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Thursday raised questions on the proposed construction of a new Odisha Legislative Assembly and Lok Seva Bhawan (state secretariat), saying, “The BJP government is bringing such gimmicky projects to hide its failure on various fronts and to divert attention of public”.

It may be recalled here that Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Monday last laid the foundation for an ultra-modern campus to house the State Secretariat and a new 300-seat-capacity Odisha Legislative Assembly building in line with the Central Vista project.

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BJD spokesperson and Bhograi MLA Gautam Buddha Das and party’s spokesperson and media coordinator Dr. Lenin Mohanty alleged that the BJP government has laid the foundation stone of this project to hide its failures. Due to failures in various sectors, public anger against the state government is growing, and to escape from this anger, the state government has brought such gimmicky projects.

The state government speaks about delimitation and claims that the number of Odisha Legislative Assembly seats could increase to 200, but there is no clarity on this, Buddha Das said.

Delimitation work begins after the census is completed. Therefore, until delimitation happens, it cannot be said whether the number of assembly seats will increase or decrease. Hence, the government’s logic of seat increase is not acceptable. The state government is only using this project as a weapon to divert attention from its failures, he further said.

Das further said that in the 18 months of BJP rule, the law and order situation in the state has deteriorated and the state’s financial condition has worsened.

After disrupting the financial discipline of a prosperous Odisha in these 18 months, Odisha is on the verge of becoming a debt-ridden state.

When the BJD government left power in 2024, the state’s debt burden was Rs. 78,000 crores, whereas the BJP government has borrowed Rs. 91,000 crores in just one and a half years.

The people of Odisha will decide what should be the priority of the government. The state government has completely failed in resolving farmers’ issues. Today, the entire state is suffering due to the pollution certificate issue. Hence, it is diverting the attention in the name of delimitation to shift focus from all these failures.

Dr. Lenin Mohanty said, “Laying the foundation stone of an ultra-modern campus to house the State Secretariat and a new 300-seat-capacity Odisha Legislative Assembly was not a priority at a time when the state is struggling to cope with escalating fiscal burden and multiple burning issues affecting the public”.