Bhubaneswar: The Navnirman Krushak Sangathan on Thursday announced plans to stage protests during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Odisha on October 25, accusing the Centre and the state government of curbing democratic rights and favouring corporate interests over farmers, tribals and other sections of society.
Addressing a press conference in Bhubaneswar, the organisation’s founder, Akshay Kumar, alleged that dissent was being suppressed while the state’s natural resources were being handed over to corporate houses at the cost of local communities.
Kumar claimed that farmers and tribal communities opposing the transfer of land, forests, water and mineral resources to corporate interests were being targeted through alleged false cases, prolonged detention and police action. He described the situation as “destruction in the name of development”.
Kumar also criticised the Centre over the demand for a legal guarantee of minimum support prices (MSP) for 23 crops, alleging that the government had failed to fulfil its commitments despite the farmers’ agitation in Delhi in 2020-21. He claimed that more than 750 farmers had died during the prolonged protest and alleged that government policies had aggravated the agrarian crisis and contributed to farmer suicides.
Targeting the Odisha government over school education, Kumar said the government had acknowledged 1,678 errors in textbooks for Classes I to VIII, but corrected books had not reached students despite repeated protests. He questioned School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond’s failure to take moral responsibility and resign, alleging that the delay was putting the academic future of nearly one crore students at risk.
The organisation also raised concerns over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that the exercise threatened the voting rights of 13.30 crore people across the country. Kumar accused the Centre of using state machinery to suppress democratic protests and cited the alleged detention of Crocodile Janta Party national spokesperson Saurav Das and national leader Ashutosh Ranka as examples of action against dissenting voices.
He further alleged that pro-government media outlets were being used to discredit democratic movements and that critical voices were facing restrictions on social media.
The organisation said its planned protest during the Prime Minister’s October 25 visit would highlight these issues, including farmers’ demands, the rights of tribal communities, education-related concerns and the protection of democratic freedoms.
