Opposition BJP and Congress today stepped up attack on Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for skipping today's NITI Aayog meeting in Delhi and rejecting the Centre's flagship health scheme.
"Naveen Patnaik's decision to stay away from the meeting of NITI Aayog's governing council in Delhi goes against the letter and spirit of the Constitution," BJP leader and Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram told reporters.
Patnaik is ignoring his constitutional responsibility while concentrating on the affairs of his party, he alleged.
Besides boycotting the NITI Aayog meeting, the chief minister has also refused to implement the Centre's Ayushman Bharat National Health Protection Mission, he said.
Patnaik's decisions are guided by political considerations and are not good for Odisha and its people, said Oram, the MP of Sundargarh in Odisha.
He asked Patnaik to clarify his intentions as his decisions are guided by political considerations.
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Another senior BJP leader and Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also came down heavily on Patnaik for rejecting the Ayushman Bharat programme.
The programme, billed as a major healthcare scheme to benefit a large number of poor people, is being opposed by the BJD government in Odisha only for political purpose, he said.
Claiming that poor people would lose a lot because of state government's decision, Pradhan asked the chief minister to refrain from resorting to such moves.
Pradhan also denounced Patnaik's decision not to attend the NITI Aayog meeting.
"The chief minister should raise the state's issues at the national level. There should be no reason not to attend such an important meeting," he said.
The Congress also sharpened its attack on Patnaik on these issues.
Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Niranjan Patnaik said the chief minister had attended the NITI Aayog meeting last year and sought to know as to what prompted him to skip it this time.
Stating that the decision was not proper in a federal and democratic set up, Patnaik wanted to know in which forum the chief minister will raise the issues concerning Odisha.
The PCC chief also asked the chief minister whether he would tell his party MPs not to attend Parliament.
The state governments principles and policies appear to be unclear, he said.
Ruling BJD spokesperson Pratap Deb, however, said the chief minister could not attend the NITI Aayog meeting as he had prior engagements in the state.
Patnaik had informed the Prime Minister about this, he said.
On the Ayushman Bharat programme, Deb said Odisha's Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana is better than the Centre's programme with more beneficiaries.