BJD Organizes Major Demonstration Against Rising Prices
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Bhubaneswar, Jan 6 (NationPress) The Opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Monday organized a significant demonstration against the increasing prices of various commodities within the state.
Thousands of BJD members and prominent party leaders gathered at the Lower PMG in Bhubaneswar to voice their concerns over the escalating prices.
BJD leader and former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik actively participated in the demonstration, criticizing the BJP’s double engine government at both the national and state levels regarding price hikes and Goods and Services Tax (GST).
Patnaik remarked, “The BJP government, which took office in June 2024, has now been in power for seven months. We have only heard grand statements, while their actual accomplishments are nonexistent. Prices are climbing, yet no measures are being taken to manage it.”
“This administration claims to represent the people, yet it appears disconnected from their struggles. The costs of essential items, from groceries such as Dal and edible oil to medicines, have surged. The government has lost control over the market,” Patnaik added.
The former Chief Minister further alleged that farmers in the state are tragically taking their own lives due to crop failures caused by unpredictable rains, compounding their suffering. He declared that the lives of ordinary citizens have become unbearable. He emphasized that both women and farmers are distressed while the government remains indifferent, as per Patnaik's accusations.
He also claimed that the ruling BJP, despite receiving fewer votes than BJD, has seized power by making misleading promises to the populace. The Leader of Opposition, Patnaik, stated that the double-engine government has exacerbated the challenges faced by citizens due to GST and rising prices.
Patnaik insisted that the public is compelled to pay higher taxes due to the oppressive GST. The BJD chief affirmed that the protest by 4.5 crore Odia individuals will reveal the true nature of the BJP government.
In response, Odisha Supplies Minister Krushna Patra dismissed the BJD protest as mere theatrics. He denied the accusations of rising prices and attributed the escalation to the 24-year rule of BJD.
