Odisha CM lying about Mahanadi water issue: Congress

Bhubaneswar, Aug 11: Leader of Opposition and senior Congress leader Narasingh Mishra on Thursday criticised the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government in Odisha for "its double standards" on the Mahanadi water issue.

The Congress leader said the state government knew about the construction of the barrage by the Chhattisgarh government since 2001, while it is now claiming that it was not kept in the loop over the projects.

"Construction of projects upstream on the Mahanadi by Chhattisgarh was in the knowledge of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and his government. He had replied to an adjournment motion on April 10, 2001," said Mishra.

He also said that the Chief Minister had informed the House that he would not allow Chhattisgarh government to construct barrages and dams without consulting the Odisha government.

Then he had assured the House that he would never let the Chhattisgarh government construct the proposed projects. Besides, the Chief Minister had informed that he had already talked to the then Union Water Resources Minister, said Mishra.

"But now, he is claiming that his government didn't know about the projects and promised to come out with vigour to fight the issue till his last breath," Mishra informed.

"This is utter hypocrisy of the state government. The Chief Minister deliberately allowed construction of projects on Mahanadi as the projects would fetch water to industries which have also projects in Odisha," alleged the senior Congress leader.

He also urged all the political parties to rise above political considerations and oppose the construction of projects on Mahanadi river by the Chhattisgarh government.

IANS