Bhubaneswar: The Opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Tuesday staged a massive demonstration in Bhubaneswar alleging that the ruling BJP government in Odisha is curtailing the powers of elected representatives under the Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) system. Thousands of party workers, sarpanches, ward members, and Zilla Parishad representatives from all 314 blocks of the state marched to gherao the Assembly. Senior BJD leaders addressed the gathering, terming the government’s move an attack on Odisha’s long legacy of Panchayati Raj empowerment. “The BJP is conspiring to strip elected representatives of their authority, reducing them to mere signatories while shifting powers to corrupt officials. Elsewhere we hear of vote theft, but here in Odisha the BJP is stealing the powers of people’s representatives,” he alleged.