Law and order has declined: Naveen

Bhubaneswar: The BJD president, Naveen Patnaik, said his party will undertake a detailed study on simultaneous elections before taking a stand on it. During an interaction at the 12th edition of the Odisha Literary Festival, he said the party will examine the proposal and its execution. “Let the details come forth, we will study and take a stand,” he said on Saturday.

Replying to a question on the new BJP government in the State, the former chief minister said, “All can see how the law and order situation in Odisha has declined with the incident of the Governor’s son at Puri. Recently, an Army Major and his fiancee were harassed violently at a major police station in the capital city. This is not a good record.”He referred to the “assault” of an Odia officer allegedly by Governor Raghubar Das’s son.

The alleged sexual assault of an Army officer’s fiancee at a police station here sparked outrage on Friday with Patnaik condemning the incident as “shocking” and demanding a judicial probe, while Chief Minister Mohan Majhi vowing to take stringent action against the guilty.

Asked about the performance of the State and the Central governments in its first 100 days, Patnaik said: “It is too early to start counting.”

Stating that he had been serving the people of Odisha for the last 24 years, the BJD chief said his work would now continue as the Leader of the Opposition.