Bhubaneswar, Aug 13 (PTI) Leader of the opposition in the Odisha assembly, Naveen Patnaik, on Tuesday appealed to all the citizens to maintain peace and harmony in the state where allegations of atrocities surfaced against a section of the people.
In an X post, the former chief minister said Odisha is a state where communal harmony and peace existed for ages.
“Many groups and aggrieved citizens have met me and expressed their concerns. It is sad that they are being victims of attacks and discrimination,” Patnaik, who is also the BJD president, said in the post.
“But it is a matter of concern that now there are reports of social unrest in different parts of the state,” he said.
While appealing to all the communities to protect the image and dignity of Odisha, Patnaik suggested that everyone work towards maintaining law and order, the security of people’s property and life, as a peaceful state.
The former five-time chief minister also urged the government and all government officials to take all possible steps to protect the people from all walks of life.
Notably, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday requested her Odisha counterpart Mohan Charan Majhi to look into alleged incidents of assault on labourers from the state there.
Meanwhile, Odisha’s Additional Director General (ADG) (Law and Order), Sanjay Kumar admitted that a stray case in this regard had come to the fore.
“Two days ago there was an incident in which some people were seen asking members of a particular group to show their identity cards to see whether they migrated from Bangladesh. It was totally unwarranted,” Kumar said.
Claiming that there was no major incident across the state following the political turmoil in Bangladesh, Kumar said nobody is allowed to take the law into their hands.
“Though it was apprehended that some Bangladeshi infiltrators may sneak into Odisha through the sea route, there was no such incident. Our sea coast was on high alert,” he said.
Referring to the recent tension in Bhadrak where some people of a group were detained and asked to prove their credentials, the police intervened and resolved the matter.
“We have instructed all our senior officials that nobody should be allowed to take the law into their hands. We will take strict action against them,” he said.
If anyone has information regarding any foreign national staying here illegally, they should inform the police. The police will take action, he said.
The police are on high alert and taking precautions for the upcoming Independence Day, he said.
“There should not be any negative impact of the Bangladesh problem on our Indian soil.” Kumar added. PTI AAM SBN AAM SBN
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