Bhubaneswar: The Congress party today called upon the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the main Opposition party in Odisha, to move a no-confidence motion against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state as it has allegedly failed to address the issue of atrocities against women.

“Incidents of atrocities against women are on the rise in Odisha. Crimes against women have come to the fore in several districts of the state including Ganjam, Balasore, Puri and Jagatsinghpur. Yesterday, a miscreant tried to outrage the modestly of a woman in the capital city. But, the government has failed to address the issue,” said the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das.

According to Das, top leaders of the Congress party, including Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge, have raised voices against the rise in crimes against the women in Odisha. The Congress party recently observed a statewide bandh to protest against the self-immolation of a girl student in Balasore due to alleged sexual harassment by a faculty member. However, the BJP government in the state is yet to wake up from its deep slumber and initiate concrete measures to check atrocities against women, he alleged.

“The Supreme Court of India has described the Balasore self-immolation incident as a shame. The Union Government is silent on the issue. The Chief Minister and the Higher Education Minister should resign from their posts. The BJD is the second largest party in the Odisha Assembly with 51 MLAs. They should move a no-confidence motion against the BJP government in the assembly. The Congress party will support the motion,” Das said.

According to the OPCC president, the Congress party is ready to move the no-confidence motion against the BJP government in the state. But, the BJD should make its stand clear on the issue. 

Commenting on the issue, BJD leader and former minister Debi Prasad Mishra said the state government is yet to issue a formal notification regarding the Assembly session. “Our party has been agitating against the BJP government on the issue of atrocities against women. The BJD Legislature Party will take a decision regarding the no-confidence motion once there is a formal notification for the Assembly session,” Mishra added.