A day after the Orissa government halted anti-Maoist operations to facilitate the early release of abducted Malkangiri Collector R V Krishna and an engineer, the rebels snapped the main road link with the district by felling trees on vast stretches. The main road connecting Maoist-hit Malkangiri district with other parts of Orissa was blocked by felling a large number of trees in mountainous and forested Gobindpalli Ghati area.
Making an appeal for early release of abducted Malkangiri District Collector R V Krishna, Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday said the government was evaluating all options and monitoring the situation.
Patnaik's statement came a few hours after the anti-posco activists sealed all the six roads connecting the proposed plant site villages located in three gram panchayats under Ersama block in Jagatsinghpur district.
Slammed by the National Commission for Scheduled Castes over a tradition banning the entry of Dalits to a Hindu temple in Puri district, the Orissa government on Saturday said it would look into the matter and try to resolve it. "We will look into it and see how the matter can be resolved," Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik told reporters, a day after NCSC Chairman L Punia visited the temple premises at Ranapada village under Brahmagiri area.
An Opposition Congress member on Tuesday climbed on the Speaker's podium in the Orissa assembly demanding Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's resignation.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday held the Orissa government responsible for the non-implementation of the Rs 51,000 crore (Rs 510 billion) Posco steel plant project.
Orissa's mega steel project Posco has slipped into a situation of Shakespeare's 'To be, or not to be' with the Union environment minister putting a halt to forest clearance.
With the Biju Janata Dal backing the National Democratic Alliance's presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu, the vote share of the ruling dispensation has now crossed 50 percent, virtually paving the way for her election as the first tribal President and the youngest too.
Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and major political parties welcomed any dialogue with Naxals provided they abjure violence. Patnaik, whose state has faced Naxal attacks including on police personnel, said "Repeatedly I have said they should shun violence. Then a dialogue is possible."
Home Minister P Chidambaram is understood to have spoken to Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and urged him not not to set precedent by striking a deal with the Maoists that would pressure on other governments in future in any similar situation, sources said.
With the Centre showing readiness to spend on development to counter Left-wing insurgency, getting more of their districts declared Naxal-affected seemed to be a common idea across state chief ministers at today's National Development Council meet.
Uncertainty prevailed over beginning of a joint operation against Naxalites in Orissa with the state government today accusing the Centre of not sending adequate paramilitary forces for the purpose.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's bypoll win in four of the six seats it contested has invigorated the party ahead of assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.
The central government on Wednesday got a helicopter to conduct surveillance in the riot-hit areas of Orissa as the Christian community expressed apprehension of violence during Christmas. Union Home Minister P Chidambaram spoke to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and asked him to take necessary steps for protecting the lives and property of the people.
With Christians in riot-hit Kandhamal afraid to perform midnight mass in churches located in remote areas on Christmas eve, Orissa government on Tuesday promised adequate security to ensure a peaceful festival this time, official sources said. "We have made elaborate security arrangements in Kandhamal and elsewhere in the state," Home Secretary Aditya Padhi told reporters after meeting Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Voting will be held on Thursday in bypolls to seven assembly seats in six states -- a contest symbolic of the fierce turf war between the Bharatiya Janata Party and regional parties.
Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati, along with his disciples, paid obeisance to the idols on their respective chariots.
The private bus, on its way to Cuttack from Talcher, crashed into the railing of the bridge and plunged 30 feet down into the dry riverbed, they said.
Raut's demand comes amid speculation over the possibility of Naveen Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal getting the post.
About 16,000 Indians, mostly students, are stranded in Ukraine as Russia's invasion of the east European country entered its second day on Friday. Of the students, many studying medicine in Kharkiv and Kyiv, about 2,500 are from Gujarat and 2,320 from Kerala.
The Orissa government on Friday said the fate of any special anti-Maoist operation in the state would be clear only after five more battalions of the central para-military force arrive.
The BJP hopes that any vote AAP gets should only be from the Congress. At the same time, it does not want AAP to get too much of it. Because, a declining old opponent is a blessing as much as a rising new rival is a threat, points out Shekhar Gupta.
Anti-incumbency is fast losing relevance as an election factor in India.
Vowing not to give an 'inch of land belonging to Lord Jagannath of Puri' for the proposed Vedanta University in Orissa, Vishwa Hindu Parishad international secretary General Pravin Bhai Togadia on Wednesday said his outfit would fight tooth and nail to protect the 'land of the Lord'. "We vehemently oppose the move of the Naveen Patnaik-led government to hand over thousands of acres of land belonging to Lord Jagannath and the VHP," he said.
Declaring that its erstwhile coalition partner in Orissa, Biju Janata Dal, and the Congress are its prime enemies, the Bharatiya Janata Party has threatened to expose the 'misdeeds' of the Naveen Patnaik government. "Being part of the coalition, we know the misdeeds of the Naveen government and have enough material against it, which would be made known during electioneering in phases," BJP said. It dubbed BJD as 'a great betrayer'.
With Orissa set to witness simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly polls, the decision on an alliance between Biju Janata Dal and Bharatiya Janata Party would be taken soon, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said on Monday.
Congress said another Mahabharat would be fought over proposed amendments in the land acquisition act.
In a bid to woo villagers to benefit from the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the Orissa government on Tuesday decided to offer health insurance and a house under the Indira Awas Yojana to each labourer who completed 100 days work in a year, official sources said.
Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's office on Thursday received a fresh e-mail threat from suspected Maoists.According to the Orissa police, the e-mail threatened to carry out a Dantewada-type massacre in the state. This is the second e-mail threat received by the Orissa chief minister's office over the past fortnight. On March 27, the Orissa CMO received an e-mail threat, which warned about plans to blow up Patnaik's residence and important monuments in the state.
'Gehlot is right now doing things, which are not appreciated by the Gandhis.' 'The Gandhis have realised that their writ does not run in Rajasthan, therefore they have deflected the issue to Kharge.'
Demanding deployment of at least 2,000 personnel of paramilitary force in riot-hit Kandhamal till the end of the coming general elections, Orissa government on Tuesday said it was severely handicapped by lack of resources. Though Patnaik informed the conference that situation in Kandhamal was under control, he said complete normalcy could be restored only after all persons in the relief camp returned to their villages.
'The government is using the agencies of the government to suppress the Opposition.'
Bowing to pressure from various quarters, the Sangh Parivar on Friday night called off their proposed Orissa bandh on Christmas day following talks with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The state-wide bandh had been called by Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati Sradhanjali Samiti in protest against alleged failure of the state government in arresting the culprits and conspirators involved in the killing of Swami Laxmanananda in Kandhamal district.
Vowing to combat the Naxal violence with "full vigour," the Orissa government on Tuesday said Maoists must realise that their anti-national activities can't go on.
Even as spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravishankar virtually offered to act as a mediator in the proposed talks with Naxalites, the Orissa government on Tuesday said it was not possible unless the ultras give up path of violence.
Describing Communist stalwart Jyoti Basu as an icon and towering personality in Indian politics, Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday said his demise had marked the end of an era.
The Missionaries of Charity has been assured by the Orissa government of strong measures being taken in troubled Kandhamal district, its Superior General, Sister Nirmala said on Tuesday.
The Odisha government on Friday renamed the WheelerIsland in Bhadrak district as Abdul Kalam Island.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is likely to project senior leader Dharmendra Pradhan, 40, as its chief ministerial candidate in Orissa after its alliance with the Naveen Patnaik led Biju Janata Dal came to an end on March 7.The BJP's central election committee on Friday cleared its six sitting MPs to seek re-election, with the exception of Pradhan's constituency Deogarh, leading to speculations that he will be the party's CM candidate for the assembly elections.
The new political alignments in Orissa are not a sudden development. Low-key consultations between Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal chief Naveen Patnaik and Communist Party of India - Marxist politburo member Sitaram Yechury had been on even before March 5, though it was on that day the two leaders spoke to each other directly.However, the two leaders decided not to interact for the next few days fearing that their high-profile meetings would alert the BJP.
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