Bhubaneswar: Stepping up its attack on the ruling BJD in Odisha ahead of panchayat polls in the state, BJP today accused Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik of creating an "Emergency like" situation wherein opposition workers are "arrested" before his visit to any place.
"The Chief Minister has created a situation akin to political Emergency. Odisha is the only state where opposition workers are arrested before the Chief Minister's visit to any place," BJP national general secretary and Odisha in-charge Arun Singh alleged here.
He claimed more than 200 leaders and workers of the party's youth wing were taken into custody on the pretext of security before the Chief Minister's visit to Sundargarh and Rourkela today.
"However, BJP will never get cowed down by these high-handedness and will intensify its fight to protect the interests of people," Singh said.
Asserting that BJP is fully prepared for the upcoming Panchayat elections, he said the party will highlight the "failure and inefficiency" of BJD during its 17 years of rule in the state, besides informing people about the achievements of the Narendra Modi Government.
"The inertia in BJD rule was thoroughly exposed after death of more than 100 children due to Japanese Encephalitis and other diseases in Malkangiri, suicide of farmers, death of a large number of infants at Nagada in Jajpur district and collapse of healthcare services," Singh alleged.
"The Chief Minister has been simply trying to mislead and cheat people by laying foundation stones for projects one after another," the BJP leader alleged.