BHUBANESWAR: Union Minister and BJP candidate for Sambalpur parliamentary constituency Dharmendra Pradhan lashed out at Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik for choosing a non-Odia bureaucrat to lead the party.
Addressing mediapersons here on Friday in the midst of a gruelling election campaign, Pradhan said BJP decided to make ‘Odia Asmita’ a major poll plank to caution people of the state that unethical, undemocratic and unconstitutional attempts are being made to promote a bureaucrat-turned-politician from outside Odisha to be the power centre and decide the fate of people.
“I thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for setting ‘Odia Asmita’ as the agenda for the 2024 elections and requesting people of the state to give BJP a chance as the BJD government has kept Odisha underdeveloped despite being abundant in natural resources,” he added.
Replying to a query on why Odia identity and Odia pride has suddenly come into play before the 2024 elections when such issues were not part of the poll agenda in 2009 and 2014, he said, the chief minister was then in full command of the state government and his party. “He had not made an attempt for back door entry of a non-Odia bureaucrat to lead the state,” Pradhan said.
Without naming VK Pandian, Pradhan said the former bureaucrat has everything under his command to assault the rich cultural and religious heritage of the state.
“A coterie of non-Odia bureaucrats is running the BJD government. They had made an attempt to stop the Rath Yatra but their wish was not fulfilled due to stiff resistance from people. Centuries-old mutts and mandirs within the precinct of Sri Jagannath Temple, Puri and Lingaraj temple, Bhubaneswar were demolished in the name of heritage corridor projects. Who gave them the permission to tamper with the heritage of the state,” asked Pradhan.
He alleged a conspiracy has been hatched by the state government to stall the Paika rebellion memorial park project at the foothill of Barunei in Khurda district even after its foundation stone was laid by former President Ram Nath Kovind in 2019. The project was initiated in 2017 and union government had made a provision in its budget for it the same year. The Culture Ministry is ready to accept all conditions of the state government to extend financial assistance. Indian Oil Corporation had given `80 crore for the project which remains unutilised due to non-cooperation of the ruling party, Pradhan said.
Asserting BJP will win all the 21 Lok Sabha seats in the state, Pradhan said people love Modi and BJD has nothing to its credit. The state government has failed on all fronts be it drinking water supply, irrigation, unemployment, huge migration of labour force, falling standards of education and health services, etc.
He said the prime minister will visit the state for campaign after May 6. He will campaign for the party in all four phases of the elections.