BJD president Naveen Patnaik on Thursday held the Odisha government responsible for the deaths of two women, who lost their lives after consuming mango kernel gruel in Kandhamal district recently.
The former chief minister claimed that the tribal women were forced to eat the gruel due to lack of adequate food at their homes. The BJP government, however, maintained that the women died of food poisoning.
"The state government has stopped the provision of rice for poor tribals. Therefore, they were forced to eat mango kernel gruel. Two people have died and others are undergoing treatment. This is very sad," Patnaik said while addressing members of the party's student wing at Sankha Bhawan, the BJD headquarters.
He expressed concern over the current government's actions, claiming that it had "ruined" the efforts of the BJD administration which had ensured people received adequate grains.
Patnaik, who was the chief minister of Odisha from 2000 to 2024, emphasised that the BJD government had introduced the state's own food security scheme for those who were not covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
"Now, the current government has ruined all those efforts and, as a result, people are forced to eat mango kernel gruel because they're not getting rice," Patnaik said.