Not feeling safe in Assembly and outside: Jayanarayan

Leader of the Opposition in Odisha Assembly, Jayanarayan Mishra, on Saturday said he was not feeling safe both inside the House and outside it. The senior BJP leader alleged that Opposition members are not getting “due protection” inside the House and are subjected to unparliamentary behaviour by the ruling BJD members. He also cited a protest by BJD workers outside his residence in Sambalpur on Saturday.

“A few days ago, BJD workers ransacked the Sambalpur Circuit House thinking I was present there. I would have been killed had I been there. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will be responsible if something happens to me and my family” he told reporters outside the House.

Jayanarayan said he could not express his apprehensions in the Assembly which was adjourned due to a din. The Leader of Opposition said he has returned State security after the assassination of the then health minister Naba Kishore Das by a police officer on January 29 this year. “If a minister can be killed, what can other MLAs expect from the Odisha government?” he asked.

Referring to the Chief Minister’s statement in the Assembly on Thursday, Jayanarayan said the BJP leaders, including himself, have not been elected to the Assembly at Naveen’s mercy. “They (BJD) have been trying to stall our growth since 2009 (when BJP-BJD ties snapped) but we have been elected to the Assembly despite rigging and booth-capturing by the ruling party,” Jayanarayan said.

Naveen, in his statement, had said, “With all humility and my experience in this House, I can say those who work for the people return to this Assembly and those who do politics over crime and stall development for political consideration have not been able to return to this August House.” Dismissing Jayanarayan’s allegation, BJD MLA Rajkishore Das said, “The Odisha CM considers every life as precious... everybody is safe here. It appears the LoP is making such statements only to hog the limelight as there is no reason for saying such things.”