Bhubaneswar, March 8 BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik on Sunday criticised the BJP government in Odisha for the "complete failure of leadership" in addressing the "increasing" number of crimes against women.
Addressing the party's women leaders and members on the occasion of International Women's Day, Patnaik said that the BJD, which follows the ideology of former chief minister Biju Patnaik, had taken significant steps to empower women when it was in power in the state.
"However, under the BJP government, atrocities against women are on the rise, and no one is there to listen to them... (It's) a complete failure of leadership at the government level," he said.
Stating that the BJD recognises the power of women in social development, the leader of the opposition in the state assembly said that his party will continue to fight for the security, dignity, and "true empowerment" of women.
He said that Biju Patnaik was a "torchbearer of women's empowerment in India".
