The Hindu : National : Patnaik government defeats no-trust motion

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Patnaik government defeats no-trust motion

Prafulla Das

BHUBANESWAR: The Naveen Patnaik government, facing criticism in the wake of communal violence in Kandhamal and other districts of Orissa, defeated a no-confidence motion in the Assembly on Friday.

The motion moved by the Opposition parties was defeated when a voice vote was taken at the end of a debate that continued for several hours. It was a smooth win for the Biju Janata Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party government, which had a majority in the 147-member House. Apart from the 93 members belonging to the ruling combine, the government has the support of seven Independents.

The Opposition leaders said they knew the outcome of the motion but wanted to highlight the government’s failure in every sphere.

“There was no doubt that the government had the numbers in its favour, but it was a matter of faith when the State was witnessing large scale communal violence,” Leader of the Opposition and former Chief Minister J.B. Patnaik said.

Responding to the debate on the motion, the Chief Minister read out a single-page reply listing what he claimed were the successes of the BJD-BJP government since 2000.

“A lot of discussion has taken place about the law and order situation in our State. The situation in Kandhamal district was returning to normality very fast. In the rest of the State, it is fully under control,” Mr. Patnaik said.

He assured the House that investigation in the cases would be thorough and the guilty be brought to book.

As regards the government’s initiative to check the growth of naxalites, the Chief Minister said a number of steps were taken to improve the capability of the State police.

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