Sambalpur: Mounting a stinging attack on Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, BJP stalwart and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday accused the BJD supremo of forcing ‘Babu Sahi’ in Odisha and hurting the sentiments and pride of the people of the state.
Addressing a public meeting at Ainthapali in Sambalpur city, the heavyweight leader said that BJP will provide a young, energetic, hardworking and dynamic Odia ‘Bhumiputra’ as Chief Minister if voted to power in the state.
Accusing the BJD government of destroying Odisha and its culture, the Home Minister said, “Naveen Babu is forcing ‘Babu Shahi’ (bureaucratic rule) on Odisha, and is assaulting the pride and dignity of the Odia people. He is throttling the culture and pride of the state.”
Seeking to know whether the people of Odisha would like a ‘Tamil babu’ to rule the state, Shah urged the people to give an opportunity to BJP to form government in the state to ensure speedy development and preservation of their rich culture.
“A Bhumiputra who is born in Odisha and knows Odia language will rule the land of Utkala Bhumi and not a Tamil babu if people vote for BJP. We will protect Odia language, literature and culture,” the veteran leader asserted.
Accusing the BJD government of trying to turn the pilgrim town of Puri into a commercial centre, he claimed that mutts and shrines were erased, while the four gates of Jagannath Temple are not being opened. “Even a conspiracy was hatched to halt the world famous Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath,” he said.
Claiming that NDA has already crossed 310 seats in Lok Sabha in the first five phases of the general elections and set to rise beyond 400 after all seven rounds, Shah said Odisha should not only send more saffron representatives to Parliament, but pave way for the formation of a BJP government in the state for its progress.
Optimistic of an impressive performance by BJP in the 2024 polls in Odisha, the Home Minister said that the party is all set to win more than 75 Assembly seats to form government in the state.
Stating that Odisha is amongst the most prosperous states in the country, he said, unfortunately those amongst the poorest are also present in the state as the resources of the mineral-rich Utkal Bhumi are looted under the BJD regime.
“Odisha’s resources are being looted by the babus of Naveen Patnaik. BJP will put an end to it if the party forms govt in Odisha,” he claimed.
Accusing the BJD government of neglecting western Odisha, the BJP stalwart said 27 lakh families are yet to get houses, while 26 lakh families are still deprived of drinking water facilities. This apart, 6400 villages do not have proper road connectivity, he said.
Coming down heavily on the Naveen Patnaik government, Shah said Odisha occupies 29th place in ease of doing business rankings. “Therefore, the state needs a double-engine government of BJP for its holistic development,” he said.
Affirming BJP’s commitment to protect the culture and language of Odisha, he said medical education will be imparted in Odia in coming days, while engineering books are already available in this language.
Dubbing the BJD government as a regime of thieves, Shah sought to know how the keys of Ratna Bhandar of Jagannath Temple were lost and why duplicate keys were made. He wondered as to why the Commission of Inquiry report was yet to made public.
“When BJP government in the state, concrete steps will be taken to find the missing keys of Ratna Bhandar and make the inventory of jewels by the Reserve Bank of India, the BJP stalwart said.
Similarly, all the chit-fund scamsters will be jailed within 18 months from the day the BJP government is formed in the state and money will be returned to the investors, he said.
While paddy will be procured at Rs 3,100 per quintal, women will be given Rs 50,000 in their bank accounts and 25 lakh women will be made lakhpati in two years in the country, Shah said.
Those present at the Vijay Sankalp Samavesh included Union Minister and Sambalpur Lok Sabha candidate Dharmendra Pradhan, leader of opposition (LoP) in Assembly and Sambalpur MLA nominee Jayanarayan Mishra, BJP state president Manmohan Samal and Bhubaneswar MP candidate Aparajita Sarangi.
