Odisha BJP gives a month deadline to CM over Kotia dispute
Two days after Andhra Pradesh's Deputy Chief Minister visited the disputed Kotia area in Koraput district, the BJP attacked Odisha's BJD government on Wednesday, accusing it of failing to take steps to resolve the issue with the neighboring state.
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Bhubaneswar: Two days after Andhra Pradesh's Deputy Chief Minister visited the disputed Kotia area in Koraput district, the BJP attacked Odisha's BJD government on Wednesday, accusing it of failing to take steps to resolve the issue with the neighboring state.
In a press conference in Bhubaneswar, BJP state general secretary Pritiviraj Harichandan accused the Naveen Patnaik government of taking a 'pathetic' approach to the border issue. He wanted to know what steps the Chief Minister had taken to resolve the dispute with Andhra Pradesh over the Kotia area.
The senior BJP leader accused the BJD government of failing to protect the state's border and suggested that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik meet with his Andhra Pradesh counterpart to resolve the Kotia issue as soon as possible.
Harichandan said the Chief Minister must take concrete steps and hold talks with Andhra Pradesh within a month to find a long-term solution to the contentious issue, and that if he does not, the BJP will launch a state-wide agitation.
Coming down hard on the state government over the visit of the Andhra Deputy Chief Minister to the Kotia area, he said the BJD government appears to have become a silent spectator to the Andhra government's unrestricted activities within Odisha's territory.
He believes the Chief Minister should recognize the importance of a CM-level discussion on the issue.
Odisha has border issues with Andhra Pradesh in Ganjam and Gajapati districts, in addition to Kotia in Koraput, according to the BJP leader.
Andhra Pradesh officials, he claimed, have been entering some villages in these districts and attempting to entice locals with various welfare schemes, while the Odisha government has remained silent on the Kotia issue because Ministers and officials never bother to visit the area to protect the state's interests.
