BHAWANIPATNA/BERHAMPUR: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday appealed people of the state to give BJP a chance and see the transformation the party brings to the state.
Addressing a massive rally at Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium in Bhawanipatna, the district headquarters town of Kalahandi, Singh hit out at Congress and BJD for keeping Odisha poor and backward.
“Congress ruled the the country for 55 years and in every election, begged for votes to eradicate poverty. Till few years back, Kalahandi was infamous for poverty and hunger. After visiting Kalahandi, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had said out of every one rupee spent only 15 paisa reached people in the district. This region was used for poverty tourism and Congress could not remove poverty.”
In stark contrast, 25 crore people of the country could come out of poverty in the last 10 years of the Narendra Modi government at Centre, he said. Asserting that those living below poverty line will be lifted out in the next five years, Singh said unlike other parties BJP fulfilled whatever promises it made to people.
Coming down on the BJD government for depriving people of Ayushman Bharat, Singh said BJP will implement the scheme immediately after coming to power in the state. All those aged above 70 years will be automatically covered under the scheme.
He said Viksit Bharat is not possible without development of all regions of Odisha. “You have already tested BJD and have seen what they have done for you. Give a chance to BJP and the see what the party is doing for the state,” the minister said.
Requesting the voters of Kalahandi Parliamentary constituency to elect candidate Malavika Keshari Deo with a thumping majority to strengthen the prime minister, Singh said removal of Article 370, construction of Ram Mandir and abolition of triple talaq were possible due to absolute majority of BJP in Lok Sabha.
Former chief minister of Tripura, Biplab Deb expressed his anguish over Odisha still being poor despite its rich natural resources. Alleging large-scale corruption is the reason behind tardy progress of the state, he said such things happen when bureaucrats become de facto rulers. People of Odisha will no longer tolerate it, he added. Pradip Kumar Naik, Sudhir Ranjan Pattjoshi , Manoj Meher, Ramesh Majhi and Anirudha Pradhan, all MLA candidates of the party in the district also spoke.
In another public meeting at Rayagada, Singh said people in Odisha want BJP to win all 21 Lok Sabha seats. He slammed the BJD for alleged misgovernance in the state. The defence minister said he has visited Odisha several times in the past but this time he is witnessing a changed atmosphere. “When we ask people about the expected election result, they say BJP will win all the 21 Lok Sabha seats in the state,” said Singh.