BHUBANESWAR: Criticising the BJD government for doing nothing for the development of the State in the last 21 years, the BJP on Friday claimed that people have made up their mind to bring a change in the governance and panchayat election will be the first step in this direction. BJP national general secretary and Odisha in-charge D Purandeswari told mediapersons that people want a change as they feel cheated by the regional party.
Dismissing Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s claims of reducing poverty and bringing in the highest ever investment to Odisha, Purandeswari said around 30 per cent of the State’s population is still living below the poverty line with 14 per cent of them without pucca houses. This is despite the fact that Odisha is one among the major beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). It is a matter of shame that PMAY beneficiaries have to shell out Rs 20,000 as bribe for allotment of house and another Rs 2,000 for assistance to construct toilet, she said.“Not a single industry has come to Odisha in the last two decades. As a result, a large number of unemployed people are migrating to other states in search of livelihood,” she claimed.
Stating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the 10th installment of financial benefit under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme on January 1 this year, the former Union Minister asked the State government to tell the people how many installments have been given to the farmers under the Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme.