TV
Congress leader and Cuttack MLA Sofia Firdous on Wednesday slammed the double engine government for rising inflation in Odisha. The young lawmaker, who participated in OTV Foresight 2025, urged the double engine government to control inflation that has crippled the normal lives of common people in the state.
Speaking during the event, Sofia said, “Double engine actually means policy implementation in harmony with efficient development. However, for the past nine months, both the engines are going in different directions… For example, Union Secretary Saurabh Garg (Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), GOI, sent a letter to Chief Secretary, slamming Odisha of failing to control inflation. Despite being double engine, they have failed to control inflation. On the other hand, non-BJP states like Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and West Bengal have the lowest inflation. It is the inflation that is hurting the people more in Odisha.”
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“20 MPS are from Odisha; had the numbers been lesser, we could have also got the power to bargain,” the Congress MLA said on a lighter note stating, “This could have helped us in the Budget. Andhra took away the benefits in the first Budget. In the second Budget, everything was given to Bihar. Odisha did not get anything in the Budget. Moreover, they are planning to take away from Odisha. For e.g. East Coast Railways was generating Rs 10,000 crore from Waltair division, but the division is now being taken to Andhra.”
“From 2000 to 2004, when BJD and BJP had formed double engine government in Odisha, Vajpayee-led BJP government was in Centre. However, the fiscal deficit doubled in 2004 during their tenure. Similarly, BJP was in mentor from 2004 to 2009 in Odisha, but did nothing as usual. They are showing that double engine has come to Odisha now, but they were here earlier too, but to no help for the state,” alleged the Cuttack MLA.
“They (BJP) are just created a myth to fool the people. The BJP double engine government has failed to keep their commitment,” she added.
