Union textile minister Smriti Irani on Sunday said that the Centre would support Odisha if the latter took the initiative to reopen the iconic Odisha Textile Mills (OTM) at Choudwar. The mill, set up in 1950 by Biju Patnaik, has been lying closed since 2001.

Irani, who was in Bhubaneswar to take part in the BJP’s state executive meeting, criticised chief minister Naveen Patnaik for “not doing enough to revive the unit”. She said the Centre would extend a helping hand if the Odisha government did its bit to put the mill back on track.

Responding to Irani’s offer, Odisha industries minister Ananta Das said the state government would definitely make an effort to revive OTM. “There should be a discussion between the Centre and the state about what needs to be done in this regard,” he added.

At one stage the state government had even proposed to set up an integrated park and textile and apparel industry in the OTM complex spread over 522 acres. But there has been no concrete development on this front so far.

Irani also attacked Naveen for “failing to protect the dignity of women and not providing them with adequate nutrition”. She said the Naveen Patnaik government had itself admitted in the Assembly that 60 per cent women were victims of anaemia. She accused Naveen of not joining the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat scheme for political reasons and alleged that the Odisha government had also not done its bit to reduce the price of petrol and diesel in the state.

However, BJD spokesperson Sasmit Patra hit back saying that instead of pointing fingers at the Odisha chief minister, Irani should talk about how BJP leaders were being arrested for misbehaving with women in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.

Odisha Congress president Niranjan Patnaik echoed Patra. “How can they talk about Odisha when they have failed to protect women in the states ruled by the BJP,” he said.

In another development, the BJP has decided to build up state-wide movements on corruption in various sectors in the state. The party plans to take up issues — such as the chit fund scam, mining scam, Omfed scam and cooperative and sapling scams — besides sensitising people on controversies related to the state’s Ama Gaon, Ama Vikash and Biju Yuva Vahini schemes. It will also generate public awareness on Naveen’s alleged refusal to cooperate with the Centre on the Ayushman Bharat scheme.

“Naveen is neck deep in corruption. We will expose this government,” said state BJP vice-president Pratap Sarangi.

BJD spokesperson, Amar Satpathy, however, dismissed BJP’s charges as politically motivated and said that the BJP leaders won’t cut ice with the voters.