BHUBANESWAR/PHULBANI: BJP national president JP Nadda on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the Naveen Patnaik government for questioning the contribution of the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre to the development of Odisha.
Taking on Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik over his remarks that a national party will never focus on the development of Odisha at the BJD’s silver jubilee function at Puri on Monday, Nadda asked the regional party to explain its achievements in the last 23 years.
Virtually kickstarting the campaign amid the buzz of an early general election, Nadda addressed two rallies at Tumudibandh in Kandhamal district and Banpur in Naragarh district. Taking a swipe at the BJD, the BJP chief said the common feeling is that the state government is always in a “sleeping mode”.
“We fail to understand what kind of a government is in the state and who is running it. Is the government run by Naveen Patnaik or someone else?” he remarked. Coming down heavily on the BJD government for not implementing Ayushman Bharat, the massive health insurance scheme of the country, he said the Naveen Patnaik government is committing the sin of depriving poor and needy people of the benefits of the health care scheme.
Reeling out the financial contribution of the Centre for major projects of the state in the last eight years with specific reference to the two districts, Nadda said the achievements of the BJD government are that of corruption reaching its zenith, also Odisha being among the top two states as far as a crime against women and human trafficking are concerned. Citing the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, he said cases of crime and atrocities against women have doubled and Odisha is also leading in the trafficking of women and youth.
Atrocities against Dalits and tribals are at their peak and the state police are even more under attack by criminals. Such government has no moral right to remain in power. Recounting the Central projects sanctioned for Puri district that includes Sri Jagannath Medical College and Hospital, Rashtriya Adarsh Veda Vidyalaya, upgradation of Puri railway station and Rs 8,000 crore coastal highway, Nadda said the chief minister had promised to set up an Odia University in the district but five years have already passed and there is no sign of it.
Raking up the issue of the missing key of Ratna Bhandar, Nadda said, “I want to ask the Naveen Patnaik government where are the original keys of the Ratna Bhandar. Is Naveen babu roaming around with duplicate keys? Is he running an original government or a duplicate government?”
Asserting that the country is emerging as another economic power with poverty less than one per cent, Nadda urged the crowd that if they want to be part of rising India then they must ensure the lotus blooms in Odisha next time.