Asking opposition parties to refrain from petty politics, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik claimed Maoist activities and violence have substantially reduced in many districts of Odisha.
Patnaik said this while replying to a debate on the supplementary demand for the departments of home and general administration here in the Assembly.
The opposition Congress and BJP members, however, walked out of the House in protest.
“We believe in hard work. We don’t stage manage things to hoodwink the people. Four crore people of Odisha for the last 15 years have experienced our commitment and sincerity in fulfilling our promises. That is why they have blessed us to serve them for four consecutive times,” Patnaik said.
Stating that his government was open to constructive suggestions and criticisms, the Chief Minister said “We want to solve all issues of our people by consensus and dialogue.
And let us rise above petty politics and re-dedicate ourselves for the people of Odisha.”
The opposition, on the other hand claimed there has been a rise in the killing of innocent people by Maoists in the name of police informers.
Patnaik said there was peace and harmony in the state and there has been no major law and order situation.
There was no communal incident and the industrial climate by and large remained peaceful, he said.
On Left Wing Extremism, Patnaik said Maoist violence has substantially declined in Jajpur, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Gajapati, Ganjam, Nabarangpur, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Sundargarh and Nayagarh districts.
“Compared to neighbouring states like Chattisgarh and Jharkhand, which witnessed 346 incidents with 75 deaths of civilian and security personnel and 170 incidents with 23 deaths of civilian and security personnel respectively, 51 incidents with 18 deaths of these categories have been reported in Odisha during 2015 up to September,” Patnaik pointed out.