JOIN USComing to a common platform, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Thursday slammed the UPA government over the abduction of two Italian tourists in Odisha and demanded a statement either from Home Minister P Chidambaram or External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on the issue in the Lok Sabha.
While the BJD charged Chidambaram with giving a “very casual” response to the incident when he was apprised of it by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the BJP accused the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government of not giving due attention to the issue.
Describing the issue as serious, BJP leader L K Advani demanded that either the Home Minister or the External Affairs Minister make a statement on the issue in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Lack of communication
He underlined that there was a lack of communication between the Centre and the state government. He said that government should explain the details of the incident and suggests what could be done to secure the release Italian citizens—Bosusco Paolo and Claudio Colangelo.
Raising the issue during zero hour, BJD member Bhartruhari Mahtab alleged that the response of the Home Minister was casual when Odisha chief minister apprised him of the abduction of the Italian tourists.
It took the chief minister’s office several hours to establish contact with Chidambaram and External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, he rued.
“I am sorry to say here in this House that the Home Minister’s response was very casual. He said, “Thank you” after listening to just two sentences from the chief minister and put the phone down,” he added.
He said that the abduction of the foreign nationals was a “very serious issue” and both the state and the Uunion government should respond to this situation.
Suspected Naxals kill cop in Odisha
While mediators appointed by the Odisha government and the Maoists were engaged in a dialogue process here for the release of two Italians abducted by the Left wing extremists, suspected Naxalites triggered a major violence in Malkangiri district on Thursday evening killing an assistant sub-inspector of police.
The incident occurred at Khairaput, an interior area of the Naxal-hit district, reports DHNS from Bhubaneshwar.