BHUBANESWAR, Feb 21: The Congress on Friday slammed the NDA government at the Centre and the BJP dispensation in Odisha over reports of missing of more than 36,000 women and 8,400 children in the state.
Addressing media persons here, newly appointed AICC in-charge of Odisha Ajay Kumar Lallu asked “why human trafficking is rampant” in the state.
“As per information given by the chief minister in the state assembly, more than 36,000 women and 8,400 children went missing in the state during the past four years. It is shocking statistics.
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“When such a large number of women and children are missing, what is the home ministry doing? Is the union home minister sleeping?” he asked.
Altogether 36,420 women and 8,404 children went missing in Odisha over the 2020-2024 period, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi informed the state assembly on Monday.
In a written statement to the assembly, Majhi said 421 women or girls were trafficked to other states through middlemen, leading to the arrest of 453 such middlemen.
The police have been registering cases based on women-trafficking complaints and have taken action to trace the missing women, he said, adding, 1,417 women and 1,857 children were traced out during 2020 to 2024.
Besides, the state government has also rescued 784 child labourers, Majhi said
The Congress leader also alleged that natural and mineral resources of the state have been “looted” and the rights of tribals, Dalits and backward classes have been “squeezed”.
The Congress would raise these issues and hit the streets to fight for the rights of the people, Lallu said.
He said the Congress would work as a strong opposition party in the state.
Newly appointed Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das, who took charge on Friday, said, “We don’t have money power, like the BJP and the BJD, to run the party. We will beg before the people and fight for their rights.”
In a veiled attack on the state BJP, the Odisha Congress president said, “The people are ignored. Women are not being respected and no importance is being given to the youth.”
Das said he has no desire to become the chief minister and his only objective is to strengthen the organisation of the party in Odisha.
“The Congress has given me crucial responsibilities and positions in the past and I successfully discharged my duty. I have no desire to become the chief minister and will work to bring back the lost glory of the state,” he added. (PTI)
