Bhubaneswar:Holding Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik responsible for the "backwardness" of Odisha, BJP chief Amit Shah today called upon the party cadre to ensure the "end" of the BJD government in the state which had "failed to meet the basic needs of the people".
Addressing a large gathering at ‘Jana Jagaran Maha Samabesh’ held at the Baramunda ground in Bhubaneswar, Shah stated, “Most of the States of the country have undertaken development in past few years. However, Odisha has remained the same as it was few years back. What Naveen has done in past 17 years for the development of Odisha?”
Giving the instance of Dana Majhi who walked for 10 km carrying his wife’s body on shoulders from the Bhawanipatna hospital due to denial of a hearse van by the authorities, Shah said, “The BJD government has failed to provide minimum facilities to the people of Odisha. Drinking water facilities are yet to be ensured for all. Besides, youths of Odisha are mostly venturing out of the State to earn livelihood.”
Rejecting the BJD's allegation of Centre's negligence towards the state, the BJP chief claimed that the Centre had given Rs 1.3 lakh crore to Odisha in the last two-and-a-half years.
In the past two and half years, the NDA government at Centre has provided Rs 1.30 lakh crore to Odisha, said Shah alleging, “The BJD government is not letting the benefits of the Central schemes to reach common man of the State.”
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While the previous UPA government had given Rs 23,000 crore to Odisha in 2013, the NDA government has sanctioned Rs 63,000 crore in 2016. From Rs 764 crore in the 2013 rail budget, the amount has reached Rs 4,682 crore in 2016, he claimed.
The Centre, Shah said, has announced to spend Rs 20,000 crore for the development of the national highways in Odisha of which, Rs 4,500 crore was meant for the coastal roads. A huge amount was given to the state for the development of rural roads, waterways, electrification, health, education and other sectors.
The Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry has planned investments of Rs 33,000 crore in Odisha, while Nalco was engaged in developing the peripheral areas of Sri Jagannath Temple in Puri, he said.
He also urged the people of Odisha to change the BJD government as Prime Minister Narendra Modi was "for the development" of the eastern state.
Development is certain wherever the BJP is in power, Shah said and cited the instances of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana.
Union ministers Jual Oram, Dharmendra Pradhan, Odisha BJP chief Basanta Panda and BJPLP leader KV Singhdeo were among those
who attended the programme.