Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee on Thursday launched its Jan Sampark and Jagran Yatra from Congress office — to interact with the common man, know their problems directly from their mouth and establish a strong bonding.
For this purpose, a bus was rolled out. The BJD has already launched its one-month-long Jan Sampark Yatra to connect with the people.
Daitanrii Nayak — a 70-year-old farmer who had single-handedly carved out a 3-km-long canal from the Gonasika mountains in Keonjhar district to ensure that water reached to the land at the tail end — flagged-of the yatra from the Congress Bhavan.
OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik and other leaders, including AICC secretary Rudra Raju, OPCC working president Chiranjib Biswal, senior leaders Srikant Jena, Satya Prakash Nayak and Debasis Pattnaik travelled in the bus to Balasore. Hundreds of Congress workers welcomed the team at the Shergad toll plaza.
The team visited Barunsingh, Nuagaon, Shergad, Biruan, Naraharipur, Kurada, Khannagar, Saraswatipur, Sutei and Karanjia gram panchayats and met people from different strata, discussed a number of issues with them.
At a public meeting at Remuna, Niranjan criticised the BJD government for rampant corruption that had taken place in the past 18 years. “The BJD has betrayed Odia people like anything. The common people with great hope had given to the BJD in the state and the BJP at the Centre, a chance to rule. But, this was misutilised again and again. Both the governments are functioning only on false promises and statements. The common mass has been deprived of their basic rights,” Niranjan said.
He alleged that starting from education to employment, industries to mining, drinking water to environment, corruption is going on everywhere. “This must be changed and Balasore people will take appropriate decision,” he said.
The party also organised an open forum at Durga Garden in the late afternoon. There the Congress leaders interacted with the public beyond politics. Niranjan also reminded people how former chief minister Janaki Ballav Pattnaik was keen to set up industries in Balasore as well as all over the state.
