ROURKELA: State BJP president, Manmohan Samal, launched a scathing attack on the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leaders and government officers, accusing them of corruption and likening them to termites eroding Odisha from within.
Samal was addressing a press conference in Rourkela on Sunday during his three-day visit to Sundargarh district. He alleged that the Naveen Patnaik government’s ‘Ama Odisha-Nabin Odisha’ initiative is a ploy to divert funds for upcoming elections and siphon off Rs 3,700 crore.
Rampant corruption has permeated government offices at all levels, from panchayat to the secretariat, turning the state administration into an undemocratic and unconstitutional machinery, Samal alleged adding, “Annually, about Rs 1 lakh crore is embezzled in Odisha with the involvement of government officers and BJD leaders. Government officers have been jailed in connection with irregularities in the ‘Mo Gaon-Mo Bikash’ initiative.”
Samal highlighted that the Narendra Modi-led BJP government has allocated Rs 18.73 lakh crore to Odisha in nine years compared to approximately Rs 3 lakh crore provided by the Congress-led UPA government in a decade. “But massive corruption has deprived the people of Odisha of the benefits,” he alleged.
The BJP president claimed that beneficiaries are forced to pay bribes to secure benefits like PMAY houses, ration cards, and Individual Household Latrines. “The state government failure to provide clean water to the masses can be gauged from a tragic incident in Keonjhar district where 11 members of the Juang tribe died after consuming polluted water,” he added.
The BJP is committed to oust the allegedly corrupt and ineffective BJD government in the 2024 elections, he further stressed.“The Modi government has approved proposals for nine medical colleges and hospitals in Odisha and it is incumbent on the state government to recommend the establishment of a medical college and hospital in Rourkela,” Samal demanded.
BJP leaders including Sundargarh MP and former Union Minister Jual Oram, Sundargarh MLA Kusum Tete, and State BJP spokesperson Dhiren Senapati, were present during the press conference.