Cong asks Naveen to take up cause

Opposition Congress legislators in the Odisha Assembly, who seem to have taken a cue from Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar holding a rally in Delhi to demand special status for his state, advised the state Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to take the fight for Odisha’s special status to the national capital.

They said that Odisha, like Bihar, has been demanding special status since long.Raising the issue at the Zero Hour, senior Congress legislator Santosh Singh Saluja said Naveen Patnaik should follow Nitish Kumar and hold a similar demonstration in New Delhi and it should be called “Swabhiman” rally. “All the political parties would support such a rally,” he said.

He said the Centre was considering changing the guidelines for granting special category status, he said Odisha could be benefited by this move. Saluja is from Bolangir district in western Odisha which is considered to be one of the poorest in the entire country.
The legislators of the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD), however, did not agree with Saluja’s suggestion.