Senior BJD leader and former minister Pramila Mallick alleged that incidents of rape, kidnapping, murder, and sexual assault involving women are frequently making headlines in newspapers and electronic media.
File Photo: ANI
The Opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has slammed the BJP government in Odisha for its alleged failure to ensure the safety and dignity of women during its first year in power. The party claimed that “since the BJP came to power, atrocities, torture, and crimes against women have increased, while women are being denied opportunities and respect.”
Senior BJD leader and former minister Pramila Mallick alleged that incidents of rape, kidnapping, murder, and sexual assault involving women are frequently making headlines in newspapers and electronic media.
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She stated that the BJP government has completely failed in providing safety and security to women in the state.
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Mallick also expressed concern over the future of 70 lakh women who had been economically empowered through the Mission Shakti programme under the previous Naveen Patnaik government.
She accused the current government of slashing the Mission Shakti budget drastically, thereby endangering the economic freedom of these women.
“The state government is ignoring Mission Shakti’s self-help groups (SHGs). Today, self-reliant women are being denied both opportunity and respect. In the Subhadra Yojana, instead of giving ₹50,000 over two years, women have effectively been given only ₹27 per day. This is a betrayal of their trust,” Mallick said.
She further alleged that cases of child abduction and trafficking have increased in the past year, citing multiple recent incidents as examples.
In addition to the concerns over women’s safety, Mallick accused the BJP government of failing to control the soaring prices of essential commodities, provide smooth darshan experiences in temples, uphold Odia identity and unity, and ensure fair paddy procurement without katni-chhatni (price cuts based on grain quality).
Calling for immediate corrective measures, she demanded the reactivation of more than 7 lakh Mission Shakti SHGs, which previously worked in collaboration with 32 government departments during the BJD government.
She urged the government to provide interest-free loans of up to ₹20 lakh annually to SHGs, increase the Mission Shakti budget to ₹10,000 crore, prioritise women’s safety, and reactivate the existing women and child protection desks.
“Free education must be provided to every girl and woman from nursery to postgraduate level,” she concluded.
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