Bhubaneswar: The Congress party, Friday, attacked the state government and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for the poor indicators of governance according to the Good Governance Index reported by the Union government.
Firing salvos against the state government over their poor records on governance issues, the Odisha Congress spokesperson Satya Prakash Nayak asked the government to stop boasting about their development works as the report, allegedly, has exposed the state of affairs, especially the issues relating to governance.
Nayak claimed that the national report places Odisha as one of the worst performing states in several sectors but the state government tried to befool the people with more schemes and branding. “I want to ask the government, what are you boasting of? The report puts Odisha in the bottom when it comes to public health. This shows the state of affairs in the state. Boasting of schemes like Mo Sarkar and 5T are nothing but means to befool the people,” he said.
The party spokesperson also asked the Chief Minister or the in-charge of 5T to come forward and explain why Odisha has been ranked among the worst performing states in terms of governance. The leader said that in terms of public infrastructure and public utility the state is reported to be among the worst performers.
The state Congress accused the Naveen Patnaik government as a government of ‘PC Culture’ which, it claimed, is one of the prime reasons for the state’s poor performance. The Good Governance Index was made public by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances which placed Odisha in the 14th slot in good governance.
The report ranked the states on sub topics too. The report claimed that in public infrastructure the state was ranked at 18th, it secured 14th rank in commerce and industries and 12th in human resource development. Even in public health it was ranked at 16th position.
Nevertheless, the Congress leadership in Odisha, tried to disassociate themselves from the controversial issue of its leader and former Nabarangpur MP Pradeep Majhi’s call for rioting. The party leaders told the media that Majhi would be the best person to explain his action but the party believed in Gandhian philosophy and non-violence.