Naveen to attend office tomorrow despite BJD shutdown call

"The chief minister is scheduled to attend office tomorrow," a senior official at the chief minister's office said here.

This apart, official sources said, all other ministers had been asked to attend offices at the state secretariat.

"We are in the government. Though we have full support to our partymen for the hartal, the ministers can't become part of it due to constitutional obligations," a senior minister said.

The officials of secretariat and heads of departments were also instructed to reach their respective offices before 10:15 am, sources said.

While the BJD had earlier called for ensuring closure of all central government offices and CPSUs in the state, six other supporting parties - CPI, CPI(M), Forward Bloc, RJD, SP and JMM were in favour of shutting down state government offices as well.

The ruling party had in an affidavit assured the Orissa High Court that law and order would be maintained during the strike.

"The ruling party workers will go by the promises made to the High Court," party MP Pyarimohan Mohapatra, who presided over a meeting of BJD leaders ahead of the strike, said.

"The schools will remain open tomorrow," School and Mass Education Secretary Aparajita Sarangi told reporters.

BJP, which had also given the country-wide bandh call tomorrow, would towards making it successful, party's state unit President Jual Oram said.

Though BJD targeted central government offices, the BJP made no difference between the two.

"We will want everybody becoming part of the strike as everyone is hit by the fuel price hike," party spokesman Ashok Sahu said.