Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Jul 10:

Hours after Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik raked up the ‘Central neglect’ issue and said “Odisha is a victim of political discrimination”, BJP leader and Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan shot back at him and called him the “merchant of lies”.

Dharmendra Pradhan Basant Panda

He further accused him of twisting facts and statistics to his favour and pointed out contradictions in his claims on housing, agriculture loan, and surplus state budget issues among others while briefing reporters at the state headquarters today.

On the same day after Biju Janata Dal hinted at making Chhattisgarh barrage issue a key agenda in coming days, Pradhan criticized the State Government for laxity and accused it of not following proper procedure.

“The Chief Minister, despite knowing that any water dispute between states can only be resolved by CWC (Central Water Commission), hasn't written to them so far. I am surprised. Despite being in power since last 16 years, he never tried to form a joint team with Chattishgarh. I urge him to at least write a letter to CWC before the Centre-State joint meeting,” said Pradhan.

He further took on Patnaik over the Kandhamal firing issue and said, ”It is expected of the Chief Minister to take some action against errant officials involved in Kandhamal firing. However, as usual, he preferred otherwise.”