BHUBANESWAR: Leader of Opposition and BJD president Naveen Patnaik on Friday launched a scathing attack on the BJP government saying it was running on false promises with zero delivery.
Participating in the discussion on budget 2025-26 in the Assembly, the former chief minister said the budget was a maze of slogans and catch phrases to divert focus on real issues confronting the state’s people. “The school bag is very heavy, but study material is zero,” he said.
Stating that the double-engine government which was supposed to take Odisha forward seems to be moving in reverse direction, Naveen said the state which was hailed for transformation earlier is now known only for changing names and colour.
“How does renaming Skilled-in-Odisha to Skilled for the World help the youth of Odisha? Rather, it is an admission of the fact that the government cannot create enough jobs in Odisha itself,” he stated.
The former chief minister said during the BJD government, Odisha always remained a high growth state which helped millions escape poverty, a fact acknowledged by many central institutions. But the double-engine government has brought down the growth rate from 10 per cent to 8 per cent this year, he said.
“The budget size has shrunk in real terms compared to last year. When we take into account the inflation, the budget of Rs 2.90 lakh crore represents a smaller real number compared to last budget. This indicates that the government has no idea about how to expand the revenue base of the state,” he remarked.
He said the BJP government should thank his earlier government for the robust fiscal health it got as a legacy which is why it is able to earmark funds for development projects without depending on handouts from the Centre.
Referring to the agitation of Mission Shakti members, the leader of Opposition said the government had promised to create 25 lakh Lakhpati Didis by 2027.
“I had demanded to submit the list of Lakhpati Didis during my last speech on budget. Instead of sharing the list in the House, the allocation for Mission Shakti has been reduced,” he stated.