Kalahandi, YNN (Lingaraj Mishra): Congress leaders have launched a scathing attack against Lok Sabha MP Malavika Devi and Rajya Sabha MP Sujit Kumar Seth, accusing them of consistently neglecting the development of Narla. Neeraj Sharma, General Secretary of the Kalahandi District Congress Committee, alleged that Rajya Sabha MP Sujit Kumar Seth has discharged his parliamentary responsibilities by merely supplying a few cement and steel chairs at the railway station and affixing his name to them. He asserted that the MP lacks any genuine sincerity towards the development of either Kalahandi or Narla.
Mr. Sharma further claimed that both MPs have failed to restore the stoppage of the express trains that used to halt at Narla Road and Rupra Road stations prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. He pointed out that the Rupra Road Rail Yatri Suraksha Sangh had staged a rail roko agitation on April 11, 2022, while the Narla Swabhiman Manch had organised a similar protest on July 1, 2026. Although the agitating locals were merely given assurances, the train stoppages were never granted. He noted that while Congress and BJD leaders and workers participated in these agitations to fight for the people’s cause, no BJP leader or worker was visible on the ground. When the locals approached MP Malavika Devi with their demand for a stoppage of the Visakhapatnam-Nizamuddin Samata Superfast Express at Narla Road and Rupra Road, they were met with disappointment once again. In a sarcastic jibe, the Congress leader quipped that perhaps the two MPs are deliberately refraining from securing the stoppage because they fear that the Congress would walk away with all the credit.
Regarding the much-touted locomotive factory at Narla, Mr. Sharma recalled that former MP Basant Panda had broken coconuts and laid foundation stones on three separate occasions within five years, whereas the current MP Malavika Devi has done so only once. He further reminded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone for the Narla locomotive factory via virtual mode two years ago, with a grand programme organised at Narla Road railway station, attended by the then DRM and former MP Basant Panda. Even though land acquisition was completed, work remains at a standstill. Mr. Sharma accused both MPs of becoming obstacles in Kalahandi’s development and raised a pointed question: “Is the Central Government planning to hand over the lease of the Narla locomotive factory to the Adani Group?” He challenged the two MPs to provide a clear answer: “When will the locomotive factory become a reality in Narla? When will the Samata Superfast Express halt at Narla Road and Rupra Road stations?”
