BJD Counters PM’s Claim On Centre’s Priority For Development Of Odisha

Bhubaneswar: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Tuesday refuted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claim of BJP government at the Centre giving top priority to development of Odisha during the last 10 years.

Speaking at a press conference in Bhubaneswar, senior BJD leaders and former ministers Sanja Dasburma and Snehangini Chhuria said far from prioritising Odisha in its endeavour for development, the Centre has meted out a step-motherly attitude during the last decade.

“The Centre has time and again turned down the proposal of BJD government in the last for more than 20 years to accord special status to Odisha. We have not only taken up the matter with the President and Niti Ayog but also passed a resolution in the Assembly in this regard. But the Centre has remained complacent to our demand always,” they said.

They further said even if the voters of Odisha have elected 20 out of total 21 MPs from BJP in the last general elections, the provision in this year’s Central budget for the state has been discouraging. “While the Centre made special budget allocation of Rs 26,000 crore for Bihar and Rs 16,000 crore for Andhra Pradesh, Odisha was neglected,” they added.

The BJD leaders further said while the Prime Minister claimed that the Centre was giving priority to Odisha, Union Coal Minister has himself said in the Parliament that the royalty has not been revised for the last 12 years. As a result, Odisha sustained a loss to the tune of Rs 10,000 crore, they added.

“Former chief minister Naveen Patnaik had also raised the demand for revising coal royalty from 14% to 20%. Besides, the rate should be revised every three years as per the Central government’s rules. But the BJP government at the Centre continues to remain complacent to the issue despite the fact that our state has rich resources of coal,” they said.

The BJD leaders alleged that though the Prime Minister had promised in the last election that the Centre would allocate 15 lakh houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, he has remained silent on the matter after the election.

On the state government’s Subhadra Yojana, the BJD leaders said it was a ploy by the BJP to hoodwink the innocent people of the state as they would get Rs 50,000 assistance over a period of 5 years, they added.