ROURKELA/PHULBANI/ANGUL: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said his Odisha counterpart and BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik has moved to a new Assembly segment fearing defeat from his traditional seat.
Similar is the case with Rahul Gandhi who fearing defeat in Amethi fled to Kerala, Yogi said during his election rallies at Rourkela, Phulbani and Angul. “This means that they know that they are going to lose in their traditional constituencies” the BJP star campaigner said, adding both the BJD and Congress have no agenda of development and their only priority is power.
In a scathing attack on the BJD Government, Yogi said the party leaders are involved in multiple scams and have miserably failed in utilising Central funds for State’s development. Stating that the BJD Government has no concern for youths, farmers and women, he said Odisha’s development needs double engine push with dual BJP Government in State and Centre to benefit all sections of people, contain Maoism and stop religious conversion.
At Phulbani, the Hindutva poster boy of BJP blamed the State Government for the murder of Lakshmanananda Saraswati in Kandhamal 11 years back. Saraswati, he said, was working tirelessly for the upliftment of tribals of the district.
Addressing the rally at Rourkela, he sought votes for Sundargarh LS candidate and Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram besides Rourkela, RN Pali and Birmitrapur Assembly seats candidates Nihar Ray, Jagabandhu Behera and Shankar Oram respectively. Heaping praises on Jual, he said Brahmani bridge and Ispat General Hospital upgradation projects are being expedited while air connectivity with Rourkela airport is a matter of time. He said four Eklavya Model Schools started working and 13 more in Sundargarh are on the anvil to benefit tribal students.
There is wave in favour of Modi in the country for his development works and people want to see him again as Prime Minister, he said and asserted that the BJP will form the government in State and Centre. He said Modi Government provided shelters to crores of poor families, toilets to 9.5 crore families, seven crore LPG connections, power connections to four crores poor families, opened 37 crores Jan Dhan accounts and 12.5 crore farmers got enrolled for annual assistance of `6,000.
Reiterating that ‘Modi Hai to Mumkin Hai’, Yogi said the BJP is committed to the vision of ‘Ek Bharat Shresta Bharat’. Raising issues of lack of employment and migration in Odisha, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said people of the State have made up their minds to change the BJD Government.
Speaking about China, he said during Congress era, China would frequently intrude into Indian territory and Pakistan would behead Indian soldiers. “Now China would not dare’, he said, adding after Pulwama the Modi Government dismantled terror camps in Pakistan and broke its backbone.
He accused the grand old party and Opposition parties of bearing negative and anti-national mindset with soft approach towards anti-national forces. “The BJP with its zero-tolerance policy is hitting terrorism on its root”.
On the BJP manifesto, Yogi said BJP promises to abolish Article 370, remove illegal immigrants and construct Ram temple at Ayodhya.
At Phulbani, some BJD workers joined the BJP on the occasion.
In Angul, Yogi said Odisha is endowed with rich natural resources and youth power but is lacking an efficient government. “In the last 20 years, people got poverty, lawlessness, lack of health facilities and unemployment. In the last elections, the Chief Minister promised houses, electricity and health facilities to poor people but what they got was chit fund scam. Naveen himself is involved in coal scam,” he said.
He appealed people to vote for BJP candidates in Dhenkanal Lok Sabha and Sambalpur Lok Sabha constituences besides, Assembly candidates under them.