Kalinganagar (Jajpur): Unveiling industrial projects worth more than Rs 39,000 crore at Kalinganagar on Wednesday, chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi launched a sharp attack on the opposition, describing unnamed critics as “those roaming around like cockroaches” and accusing them of trying to derail the country’s progress.He added that the BJP govts at the Centre and in Odisha were focused on development, while the opposition remained preoccupied with politics and protests. “You may call them whatever you want, those running around like cockroaches. They are busy with anti-national work. They are trying to impede the country’s progress. Using irrelevant issues, they are attempting to create instability in the country,” Majhi said but did not name any party in particular.“These opposition parties neither have the vision for the country’s development nor any commitment to the state’s development. They have only one agenda: to safeguard their identity and existence. Every day, they come up with a new protest and create drama around it,” he said.Continuing his attack, the chief minister said, “Remember this: they are busy with protests, while we are busy with development. They are engaged in politics; we are focused on Odisha’s progress. When we are working to attract investments, they are organising protests in both the state and the national capital. They seem to have little else to do. They have no concern for the nation’s development.”“While Prime Minister Narendra Modi is striving to make India a Vishwa Guru and we are working to accelerate Odisha’s growth, they remain preoccupied with expanding their political influence. Beyond politics and obstruction, they have contributed little to the cause of nation-building,” the CM said at a time when INDIA bloc and BJD have been protesting over Special Intensive Revision, among other issues.Majhi inaugurated projects worth Rs 31,607 crore and laid foundation stones for projects worth another Rs 7,776 crore in the industrial hub. He said the investments unveiled at Kalinganagar reflected investor confidence in Odisha and underscored the state’s emergence as a major industrial destination.While Majhi attacked the opposition, addressing a BJD event in Bhubaneswar, leader of opposition Naveen Patnaik said that development was the main agenda during the BJD govt’s tenure. However, under the present double-engine govt, the party’s development appears to have become the primary agenda.Naveen alleged that people from all sections of society are facing hardships under the current govt. “Farmers are distressed, women are distressed, senior citizens are distressed. The poor are suffering and so is the middle class. The future of Gen Z is in darkness,” he said.“Everyone is suffering, but the govt remains in deep slumber. In terms of inefficiency, the Odisha govt is number one in the country,” Patnaik remarked sarcastically. The BJD chief urged party workers to stand with the people and expose what he described as the failures and inefficiency of the govt. He called upon them to continue highlighting issues affecting the public and hold the govt accountable.Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhakta Charan Das said, “The opposition parties are fighting to defend democracy, which will only intensify.”
