BHUBANESWAR: The BJP on Tuesday came down heavily on BJD president and former chief minister Naveen Patnaik for accusing the saffron party of stealing the mandate and betraying the people after coming to power.
In a scathing attack on the BJD supremo, deputy chief minister Pravati Parida said people of Nuapada were preparing to give a fitting response to the ‘24 years of betrayal’ by the previous BJD government. Taking to her X handle, Parida said it took a long time for him (Naveen) to realise how he had betrayed the people during his 24 years in power.
“Those who betrayed the trust of Mission Shakti women in every promise will be held accountable by our Subhadra sisters in the upcoming by-election. The people of Nuapada won’t be fooled by false promises. They will vote for the double-engine government and BJP with their trust and faith in the 500-day government,” she said.
Posing several questions to the BJD president, BJP spokesperson Anil Biswal remarked, “People of the state supported your government for 24 years but what did they get in return? The real betrayal for the people is that not a single cold storage was built, not a single dam was constructed on the river Mahanadi, all agro-based industries were shut down and Odia businessmen suffered during your long rule.”
He further pointed out that none from the BJD turned up to pay condolences to Rajendra Dholakia after his demise. “Instead, they used abusive language against his family. He had done a lot for the BJD. Isn’t this a betrayal?” Biswal asked.
The BJP leader further added that common people could not meet Naveen when he was the chief minister. “You did not learn Odia and instead brought non-Odias to dominate politics. Isn’t this a betrayal of the Odia people?” he questioned.
Reminding Naveen about prominent leaders like Dilip Ray, Baijayant Panda and Bijoy Mahapatra who brought him to politics, Biswal said people of the state know what he (Naveen) did with them. That is betrayal.
While campaigning for party candidate Snehangini Chhuria for the upcoming Nuapada bypoll, Naveen had, during a public meeting in Komna block on Monday, accused the BJP of stealing candidates by betraying the people of the district.
