ROURKELA: The BJP government in the state has rampantly looted mineral resources and distributed mines to private companies in the past 18 months, claimed president of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Bhakta Charan Das on Sunday.
Participating in a host of activities during his visit to Rourkela, Das said energy-producing states are procuring around 202 million tonne of coal from Odisha annually and providing free electricity to consumers and farmers. But the state government has forgotten its promise of providing 300 units of free power to farmers. “When Odisha is a leading energy producer, why should our people suffer?” he questioned.
The OPCC chief further alleged that Tata Power is involved in corruption to the tune of Rs 8,000 crore involving 1.25 crore consumers in Odisha. The energy distribution company and the BJP government are hand in glove to introduce smart meters and loot Rs 3,000 as deposit from each consumer. Energy is an essential service and making power supply prepaid is another attempt to exploit the consumers, he claimed.
Das also attacked the BJP-led union government for renaming the MGNREGS as Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G). He said it is a conspiracy to remove the name of Mahatma Gandhi. The Congress has waged a battle to protect the original form of the MGNREGS which benefitted crores of rural poor with 100 days of guaranteed employment.
He claimed crime against women is at an all-time high with regular occurrences of gang-rapes and kidnappings. Youths are depressed with growing unemployment while education and healthcare systems have collapsed due to manpower shortage.
“Rourkela city is struggling with air pollution and people have no access to clean drinking water due to the failure of the double engine BJP government,” Das alleged.
Earlier in the day, the OPCC president participated in a procession from Panposh to Ambedkar square through Rourkela main road. He attended a workers’ conference at the Congress Bhawan in Sector 21. Members of Rourkela District Congress Committee (RDCC) were asked to highlight the failures of the BJP government and mobilise public opinion in favour of the Congress.
Among others, AICC secretary and Odisha in-charge of Congress Ajay Kumar Lallu, OPCC vice-president Santosh Singh Saluja and RDCC president Sabir Hussain accompanied Das.