Bhubaneswar: After Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s budget speech, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Congress have criticized the ruling party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state. The controversy centers around the government’s commitment to fund and expedite the Polavaram irrigation project in Andhra Pradesh, which the opposition says is detrimental to Odisha’s interests.
In his budget speech, Sitharaman said that our government is fully committed to provide funding and speedy completion of the Polavaram irrigation project, which has become a lifeline for Andhra Pradesh and its farmers.
Both BJD and Congress opposition party leaders have condemned this promise as a betrayal to the people of Odisha. They have argued that this decision gives priority to political benefits over the interest of Odisha . Senior BJD leader Prasanna Acharya accused the central government of acting out of political necessity and said that the central government is working against the interest of state like Odisha to make them happy because they are surviving with the support of other parties. Former chief minister Naveen Patnaik and the Odisha government opposed the project while the BJD member raised the issue in both house of parliament. Prasanna Acharya said that the state government repeatedly requested the central government to consider the interests of Odisha regarding the Polavaram project. He condemned the special budget arrangement for Polavaram as a big blow to the interests of Odisha. Congress leader Sofia Firdous said that many villages of Odisha will be submerged and thousands of residents will be displaced by the Polavaram project. He accused the BJP government of betraying the people of Odisha. While Odisha has long been apprehensive about the Polavaram project, it is feared that it will submerge many villages, including the protected tribal areas of Andhra bordering Malkangiri district.
