The activists of the saffron party damaged properties inside the block office premises over alleged corruption in Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna, lack of doctors in hospitals and misuse of government machinery by ruling party leaders in the region.
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“There is severe corruption at block level including police administration as BJP supporters are being intentionally harassed and tortured,” said former BJP MP Rudra Narayan Pani.
“Grills, AC cooling fans, window glasses and other properties at the block office were ransacked,” said Parjang BDO, Basant Mallick.
A rally was earlier organized by BJP activists from Parjang Haat protesting poor implementation of several welfare schemes and corruption in the block.
In view of the palpable tension, adequate police force has been deployed to maintain law and order.
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Shops and establishments remained closed while vehicular traffic movement was also disrupted on account of the bandh. Apart from Boudh town, the effect of the bandh was also seen in Harbhanga and Kantamal areas in the district.
Notably, Begunia MLA Prashant Jagdev and his supporters thrashed BJP activists showing black flags to Food Supply minister Sanjay Dasburma at Manamunda while they were on their way to attend a rally organized by the Youth wing of BJD to protest the proposed projects by Chhattisgarh government on the upper catchment areas of Mahanadi. The leaders and workers of the ruling party accompanying the minister were seen beating up BJP workers and even kicking them on the face.
“A team of the BJP legislature party led by KV Singhdeo will visit the spot at Manamunda in Boudh district tomorrow to take stock of the situation”, BJP general secretary Prithivraj Harichandan said at a press conference here.
“As we have all seen today that BJP activists were assaulted brutally by the BJD leaders in the presence of police following which three of our workers have been hospitalised in a critical condition. We condemn the incident and thank party workers who protested against the misrule of Naveen Patnaik government,” he said adding BJP will continue to protest against the ruling party’s hooliganism.
Harichandan pointed out that hooliganism of the ruling party clearly shows their frustration and Naveen Patnaik’s lost faith on democracy.
BJP spokesperson Sajjan Sharma said the activists were showing black flag protesting against gross irregularities in the distribution of ration cards under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). “While they were waiting to meet the Food minister Sanjay Dasburma and ask him the reason for withdrawing thousands of ration cards and imposing fines on some beneficiaries, BJD MLA from Begunia and a corporator from Bhubaneswar got down from minister’s car and beat BJP workers mercilessly with their other workers. The incident shows that the BJD is worried about its failure in all sectors,” Sharma said. “We condemn such activities of the ruling party and call upon the chief minister and BJD chief to restrain his party workers from such things”, he added.
The BJP leader further stated that not only in Manamunda, but BJD’s hooliganism was also seen at Daruthenga today where the government engaged forces to beat the villagers while they were protesting for their legitimate demands. Similar scenes were also enacted by the ruling party members in the CMC meeting today, Sharma maintained.
BJD MLA from Begunia Prashant Kumar Jagdev, who led the charge against the protesting BJP workers, however, gave an altogether different take on the incident. "In the name of showing black flags, the BJP activists wanted to kill us. All that we did was to act in self defence," he said.
Meanwhile, members of the BJP Yuva Morcha and Women's Wing blocked the road at Master Canteen square here by burning tyres and protested against what they called the holiganism of the ruling party leaders. "We will continue our protest till all those who attacked our workers in Manamunda are oput behind the bars," a Yuva Morcha leader said.
Earlier in the day, Begunia MLA Prashant Jagdev and his supporters thrashed BJP activists showing black flags to Food Supply minister Sanjay Dasburma at Manamunda in Boudh district today while he was on his way to attend a rally organized by the Youth wing of BJD to protest the proposed projects by Chhattisgarh government on the upper catchment areas of Mahanadi. The leaders and workers of the ruling party accompanying the minister were seen beating up BJP workers and even kicking them in the face.
Following the incident, Boudh district president of BJP Yuva Morcha lodged a complaint against five BJD men, including ministers Pushpendra Singhdeo, Sanjay Dasburma, MLA Prashant Jagdev, corporators Amresh Jena and Vijay Nayak at Manamunda police station.
Sahoo was in Nayagarh to attend the Biju Centenary celebrations when some BJP activists tried to show black flags to the minister near Ranpur.
Commenting on the incident, the minister said; “I was here to offer tributes to a freedom fighter. Such acts only reflect shallow mentality. Thousands of people participated in the centenary celebrations and it was a great success. We have no information on the miscreants who tried to show black flags.”
According to reports, Dipesh Shah, a businessman from Ahmadabad had climbed the Taladhwaja chariot of Lord Balabhadra in the wee hours July 8. After having the darshan of the Lord, he had gone to the Nandighosa chariot for the darshan of of Lord Jagannath. While climbing the chariot, he was detained by the police. Following a complaint lodged by the Shri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), police arrested Shah yesterday after examining the CCTV footage.
Talking to media persons, IIC of Kumbharapada police station Krushna Chandra Sethi said CCTV footage showed Shah climbing Taladhwaja chariot at about 3.40 AM on Friday. Jagannath Temple Police (JTP) and local police caught him while he was trying to climb Nandighosa chariot.
"Police has registered a case against Shah under section 188 of the IPC and section 30 of Shri Jagannath Temple Act,” the IIC added.
To a question on the action to be taken against a woman devotee who was seen climbing the chariot with a servitor, he said the police will take action only after the SJTA takes a decision in this regard.