BHUBANESWAR: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday launched a sharp attack on the Opposition Biju Janata Dal and Congress, accusing both parties of failing to serve the interests of the people.
Addressing a gathering at a programme where development projects worth Rs 3,275 crore were launched here, Shah said the previous BJD government led by Naveen Patnaik treated the people’s mandate as a compulsion rather than a blessing. Despite ruling the state for over two decades, he said, the BJD government stalled Odisha’s development and did nothing to strengthen the cooperative movement and dairy sector.
“A mandate is the blessing of the people. The BJP won 20 Lok Sabha seats and formed government in the state for the first time with their blessings. The double-engine government has fulfilled all promises made before the election within a short period of time,” he said.
Mounting a scathing attack on the Congress, Shah said the party is pushing the country’s politics in a negative direction. Referring to the incident during the AI Summit in Delhi, he said the Congress leaders’ protest by removing their shirts embarrassed the country on the global stage.
Taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, the Union Home Minister said, “Twenty attempts of his launching by the Congress has failed and if he continues to do such mistakes (to defame the country), he will prove a failure even in the 100th attempt.” During his visit to the state, Shah laid the foundation stone for the permanent campus of National Forensic Sciences University and inaugurated its temporary campus in Bhubaneswar.
He also laid the foundation for a new facility of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory to enhance forensic capabilities and modernise the criminal justice system.
Several memoranda of understanding were also signed during the programme, including an agreement between the Odisha Police and IIT-Bhubaneswar to strengthen cyber security and investigations. Another MoU was signed with Rashtriya Raksha University for advanced training of police personnel.
Initiatives under the White Revolution 2.0 programme were also launched to strengthen the dairy sector. A milk processing plant with a capacity of 30,000 litres per day was inaugurated at Tangi in Khurda district.
Shah announced the revival of Badamba Cooperative Sugar Industries in Cuttack district with the support of Indian Potash Limited (IPL) and assured that steps will be jointly taken by the state and the central governments to restart the Nayagarh sugal mill.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said the initiatives would open a new chapter in Odisha’s development journey and accelerate growth in key sectors.
He said the cooperative movement would play a vital role in building a prosperous Odisha and announced that the state’s new cooperative policy aligned with the Centre’s vision of ‘Sahakar Se Samriddhi’ will be unveiled.