Bhubaneswar: The All Odisha Contractors' Association has filed a complaint against the Leader of Opposition and former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, along with seven others, at the Mancheswar Police Station in Bhubaneswar.

Apart from Patnaik, the association has lodged complaint against six BJD leaders Niranjan Pujari, Prafulla Mallik, Pratap Jena, Sudam Marndi, Susanta Singh, and Raghunandan Das, as well as the Principal Secretary of the Works Department, Vir Vikram Yadav.

The association alleged that its members had staged a demonstration in 2019, presenting a 10-point charter of demands. The then Odisha government formed a committee and assured the association that their demands would be met.

Following assurances from the former Chief Minister, the association called off their agitation. However, they claim that their demands have not been fulfilled.

The association has accused the committee of deliberately deceiving Odisha contractors with the intention of cheating them. According to their complaint, the ex-Chief Minister and former ministers were involved in a criminal conspiracy, giving false assurances to meet the association's demands, thereby committing criminal breach of trust and causing significant losses to the association and its members.

A contractor alleged, “We wanted that works in Odisha should be awarded to local contractors. Despite our repeated requests, no action was taken by the previous government.”

Another member added, “Due to certain rules, we are not getting contracts at the right price. We want the implementation of the schedule rate so that all contractors can get work.”