Pti

Bhubaneswar: Holding both the BJD and the BJP responsible for the Mahanadi water dispute, opposition Congress today dubbed Chhattishgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh as an "enemy" of Odisha and not a "brother".

"Raman Singh has behaved like an enemy of Odisha and not a younger brother as claimed by the Chhattishgarh Chief Minister at a public meeting yesterday in Bolangir district.

He should have stopped the construction of projects on upstream of Mahanadi before claiming that Chhattishgarh is the younger brother of Odisha," OPCC president Prasad Harichandan told reporters here.

While addressing a public meeting in Bolangir, Raman Singh had said, "Odisha is the big brother and Chhattisgarh the younger. If both brothers sit together the Mahandi issue can be resolved in minutes."

Like the ruling BJD headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the OPCC is also opposed to Chhattishgarh's "unilateral" construction on upstream of river Mahanadi which led to slowing down of water flow to Hirakud Dam.

Alleging that both the BJD and the BJP are fooling the people of Odisha, Harichandan said that both the parties are enacting drama to woo voters in the panchayat elections.

He condemned BJD s 'jal satyagraha' to protest Raman Singh's visit to the state yesterday.

Harichandan demanded immediate constitution of a tribunal and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention to resolve Mahanadi dispute.

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