Hostage crisis worries Opposition

BHUBANESWAR: Opposition members on Saturday expressed grave concern in the Assembly over the hostage crisis which does not seem to be coming to an end in the near future. Raising the issue during zero hour, Congress chief whip Prasad Harichandan said that despite the announcement of the swap deal, the fate of Laxmipur MLA Jhina Hikaka is still unknown and Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda has released another audio tapes threatening extreme measures if the demands were not met. Once the Budget session ends, the MLAs cannot know the developments in the hostage crisis, he said and added that the Speaker should have allowed a discussion on the adjournment motion notice given by them on the issue. Speaker Pradip Amat, however, maintained that as the abduction of Jhina Hikaka had been discussed in the House once during the session, it cannot be discussed again during the same session as per the rules of business of the House. His party colleague Dambarudhar Ulaka wanted to know about the fate of Hikaka. Requesting the Chief Minister to again issue an appeal for the release of the MLA, Ulaka said that they cannot move in their constituencies freely after the abduction. BJP-backed Independent member Pratap Chandra Sarangi said that the State Government should let the members know in which cases the CMAS activists and Maoists to be set free for Bosusco and Hikaka, were involved. The State Government should also give an account of how many policemen were killed and the funds spent for arresting these activists to be released in the swap deal, he said. Alleging that the hostage drama seems to be the outcome of the turf war between the two factions of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Jayanarayan Mishra (BJP) demanded an investigation. Congress members Prafulla Majhi and Anup Sai also expressed concern over the delay in the release of the hostages. Former minister and BJD member Damodar Rout, however, said that the abduction issue should not be discussed in the House in detail. Stating that the Maoists should spell out what do they want for the development of the tribals instead of demanding the release of this or that activist, Rout wanted to why the Naxalites are against the construction of the Ranchi-Vijayawada highway. Do they think construction of road would not bring prosperity of the tribals, he asked.