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Koraput/Umerkote: Accusing the BJD government in Odisha of hijacking the credit for the work done through the welfare programmes of UPA government, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi today claimed the state is ruled by "mine mafia" and not by the people's representatives.
"The state government is run by the mine mafia and not by leaders. Valuable minerals worth thousands of crore rupees are looted and state government is aware about it," Gandhi alleged at a public meeting at Semiliguda in the tribal-dominated Koraput district.
"Though the Centre sends thousands of crores for the welfare of tribals, the amount is not reaching the beneficiaries at the village level. The state government is diverting central funds and taking credit without any justification," he said.
While a handful of mafia loot mineral resources of Odisha and become rich, the poor and tribal people do not get any benefit, Gandhi said.
In contrast, the Centre has set up a large number of institutes, medical colleges and hospitals for the betterment of the people, he said.
Highlighting the Congress party's concern for the poor and tribal people, Rahul Gandhi said his family had long-standing bond with the tribals and "I love to be in the midst of tribal people."
Recalling that Rajiv Gandhi had also visited the area, Gandhi said he would continue to fight for the cause of tribals
The Congress vice president claimed that it was he who stood by the agitating tribals of Kalahandi and saved Niyamgiri Hills.
Strongly opposing displacement of people for various projects without offering adequate compensation, Gandhi said Congress would strive for safeguarding the interests of the poor and underprivileged.
Hitting out at the state government, Rahul accused it of being insensitive towards the poor and said it was unfortunate that Food Security Act was not implemented in the state.
He also raised corruption issues like chit fund scam and alleged that the ruling BJD leaders were behind the ponzi companies which duped the poor and innocent investors in the state.
Addressing another rally at Umerkote in Nabarangpur district, the Congress vice president accused the Naveen Patnaik-led regime of diverting funds meant for tribal welfare, and said, "We had prepared a tribal sub-plan especially for the Adivasis but the Odisha government diverted the funds hurting the tribals."
In a bid to hardsell the UPA's flagship Forest Rights Act, Gandhi said, "Through this act, we gave you your rights not only in Odisha but also in other parts of India."
Hitting out at NDA, he said that they only talk of development but do not talk about poor, Adivasis and farmers.
"Poor people and the tribals had helped the country grow.
It was you who gave (Congress) the strength in 2004 and 2009," he said.
Talking about the farmers, the Congress vice president said that it was the UPA who opened the doors of banks for the farmers. "The farmers help in the progress of the country. The farmers came to the Congress president (Sonia Gandhi) and the Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh) for help. Before this only big people had access to banks but we opened the doors for the farmers," he said.
"We also waived bank loans worth Rs 70,000 crore. The Opposition had attacked us saying where would the money come from, but we managed," he added.
