Bhubaneswar, Feb 27 (PTI) The opposition BJP and Congress on Saturday accused the BJD government in Odisha of failing to maintain law and order in the state, a charge denied by the Minister of State of for Home D S Mishra.

The law and order issue was debated in the assembly after a notice was moved by BJP whip Mohan Majhi who alleged that the people of the state are not feeling safe.

The BJP leader cited several instances in which minor girls have gone missing and, in some cases, their bodies have been recovered.

He said that a two-and-a-half-year-old girl in Jajpur district went missing in August last year and her parents are yet to trace her. A woman, who is a college student, was found with her hands and legs tied in Cuttack two days ago.

"The life has been miserable in the state, particularly for women and girls," Majhi claimed.

He said though Odisha's law minister has been named as an accused in the Mahanga double murder cases, the police have not interrogated him.

A 74-year-old local leader of the BJP and his elderly associate were hacked to death at Mahanga in Cuttack district last month.

Similarly, Majhi said, the agriculture minister has been charged with shielding the prime accused in the Nayagarh minor girl kidnap and murder case in 2020 but the government did not take any action against him.

The BJP leader also raised the issue of the threat call to the chief of Jalespata ashram where VHP leader Swami Laxamananda Saraswati was killed along with four others in 2008 leading to a riot in Kandhamal.

Majhi also alleged that there was an attempt to kill the BJP's Sambalpur MLA Jaynarayan Mishra while he was in Sohela prison following his arrest in connection with a political clash at Bijepur in 2018. "I suspect something was mixed in the food given to me in jail. I had no kidney problem earlier. But after coming out of jail, I am suffering from a renal problem. This could be the result of the food given to me in jail," the Sambalpur lawmaker told reporters outside the House.

Taking part in the debate, Congress Legislature Party Leader Narasingha Mishra alleged that jungle raj is prevailing in the state.

Atrocities on minor girls are on the rise while drug mafias are ruling the roost in Odisha, he claimed.

Mishra said that though Uttar Pradesh, a large state, tops the list of rape cases in the country, Odisha is in the second position despite being a small state.

Odisha is in fact in number one position in rape cases keeping in view its population, the Congress member claimed.

Replying to the debate, Minister of State for Home DS Mishra claimed that law and order situation continued to remain normal as there are no major lapses.

Two by-polls were held at Tirtol and Balasore peacefully and the fight against COVID-19 was also peaceful, the minister said.

He said the Maoist menace and the overall crime scenario have been under control.

The police also made a breakthrough in a gang-rape case after 22 years, the minister said.

However, BJP members were not happy with the ministers statement and staged a walkout. Congress members protested in the well of the House criticising the minister's reply.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)