BHUBANESWAR: Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly and Congress veteran Narasingh Mishra on Monday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not meeting Muktikanta Biswal who walked all the way from Rourkela to New Delhi to remind him about an unfulfilled promise.
Alleging that this was not for the first time that the Prime Minister has ignored Odisha, Mishra told a media conference here that Modi had also met a house committee which wanted to apprise him about farmers’ problems in Odisha and demand a hike in the minimum support price (MSP) on paddy. “The Prime Minister does not have the time for the poor and Odisha,” he said and added that the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) will present the money raised by the party for establishment of a super specialty hospital at Rourkela as promised.
Though the Assembly Committee had sought appointment from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to meet the Prime Minister, there was no response, Mishra said and added if this continued democracy will be destroyed and fascism will be established in the country.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, Mishra said, “The CLP would like to meet you on behalf of people of Odisha to present you a cheque of the fund raised by our party in support of the project and submit our memorandum.” Mishra requested the Prime Minister to accommodate the elected representatives of Odisha and fix an appointment on a priority basis. Stating that Odisha desperately needs attention to quality education and healthcare facilities, Mishra said, “Being a poor state, it relies a lot on Central funding and such a promise coming from a high office like yours had raised Odia people’s hopes.”
Reminding the Prime Minister about his promise on April 1, 2015 at Rourkela for the establishment of a super-specialty hospital, Mishra said regretfully there has not been any progress in fulfilling the promise even though three years have passed.