Dhenkanal: Expelled BJD minister Damodar Rout seems to be in no mood to let go any opportunity to criticise the state government in particular and the central government in general.
Rout Thursday attended a meeting organised by Odisha Suchan Adhikar Abhiyan and Dibyajyoti Club at Rathagoda in Dhenkanal where he gave vent to his frustration on the Chief Minister and the party.
In his speech, Rout targeted the state government and claimed it to be corrupt and shielding the corrupt. He gave the example of former Chief Minister Nandini Satpathy and said that she took action against two IAS officers immediately after allegations of molestation were levelled against them.
He went on to say that Biju Babu always thought about the people of Odisha, but Naveen Babu was just the opposite.
Rout said he was a common man and not a member of any political party. He claimed he was on a mission to share with the people of the state his bitter experience during his tenure as a minister over the years.
He mentioned about the corruption starting from manure scam in Mayurbhanj, embezzlement of Rs 8 crore by assistant director, horticulture, in Kalahandi district, mines scam, Kunduli gang-rape victims and about money being spent like water in Biju Yuva Vahini.
The Paradip MLA said he was expelled from the party when he raised his voice against the scams. Besides, he brought to the fore another scam of pulses and alleged that three Odia officers were involved in it.
He also did not spare the Central government. Citing the water dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu as instance, he asked if the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee could resolve the issue, why couldn’t Narendra Modi break the deadlock between Odisha and Chhattisgarh.
He alleged that Narendra Modi was showing undue favour to Chhattisgarh while neglecting Odisha.
On the occasion, state Congress spokesperson Satya Prakash Nayak said the government duped the farmers of Kamalanga in Dhenkanal district into giving away some of their farmlands promising irrigation facility for the remaining. And then the acquired farmlands were handed over to a company. He said now is the time for these cheated people to teach a lesson to the government.
Among others, coordinator of the meeting, Priyabrata Gadnayak, convener of Right to Information Campaign, Pradeep Pradhan, convener of State Anti-Corruption Campaign Forum, advocate Sudhir Mohanty and columnist Rabi Das also spoke on the occasion.
PNN