Bhubaneswar, 8 December (H.S.): The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) cornered the Odisha government in the State Assembly on Monday over the recent clash in Malkangiri, where around 50 houses were reportedly set on fire during a confrontation between two groups.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour, BJD MLA Pratap Keshari Deb questioned the state government’s preparedness and asked whether the Home Department and the intelligence machinery were “asleep” when such a major incident occurred.

Deb pointed out that although the incident took place two days ago, it appeared in the media only today, highlighting a delay in the administration’s awareness. He said that local residents have also expressed concern that the Home Department and the police failed to detect the situation in time.

“Malkangiri is known to be a sensitive district in terms of law and order. The occurrence of such a major incident clearly reflects the government’s administrative failure,” Deb said.

He further criticized the government for boasting about its law-and-order performance while being unable to prevent or even promptly detect a large-scale violent incident. The MLA urged the state government to take the matter seriously and strengthen law enforcement and intelligence mechanisms to prevent such lapses in the future.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda