People in Kandhamal are still scared: Oram

BHUBANESWAR:(visakeo) National BJP vice-president Jual Oram, MP, has stopped short of blaming the State Government for its failure to protect the Hindu minority in Kandhamal district and enforcing the Freedom of Religion Act in true spirit.

After visiting all the riot-hit villages in Kandhamal district, Oram accused some relatives of BJD MP Sugrib Singh of the attack on Swami Laxamananda Saraswati.

''Anger of the people particularly the Kui Samaj against former minister Padmanabha Behera is palpable,'' he said.

Oram who led a delegation of BJP leaders to the strife-torn district told mediapersons here on Wednesday that engraved marble blocks bearing Behera and names of his family members have been removed from the Jagannath temple at Phiringia.

Disputing the Government claim of providing adequate relief and security to the people, Oram said they were still in fear. Relief distributed among the people is not sufficient and there is no sign of police security in Gadapur and Daringbadi villages, Oram said.

His statement contravenes Revenue Minister Manmohan Samal's assertion that relief provided to the affected was adequate and there was not a single complaint about the quality of relief materials. Alleging large-scale conversion in the district, the BJP leader named a few NGOs, which were pumping in huge foreign aid for the purpose.

Although conversion through allurement is illegal, the administration has not been able to enforce the Freedom of Religion Act against the NGOs, he said. The situation in the district is so grave that the once majority Hindus have become a minority in many villages.

Asserting that majority of the houses torched during the communal clash belonged to the Hindus, Oram alleged that there is vilification campaign portraying them as villains internationally.

He further alleged that the district administration had failed to recover Government and community land under unauthorised occupation and restoration of tribal land from the clutches of non-tribals, mostly Christian converts.

Appreciating Government investigation into false caste certificate cases, he said this could have been done much earlier. He urged the Government to dismiss all those who have joined Government services by producing false caste certificate and take exemplary action against them.

To a question, Oram said that his party could have alerted the Government much before the incident as it was apprehending some unpleasant situation.