Congress Targets Odisha CM Over Japan Visit, Says Only 5 Foreign Investments Since 2016

Bhubaneswar: Mounting a scathing attack on Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik over his week-long Japan visit, Congress on Tuesday alleged that the BJD government has failed miserably to attract foreign investment.

Addressing a press meet in Bhubaneswar, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Sarat Pattanayak and senior party leader Bijay Patnaik claimed that crores of rupes are being spent on foreign tours, but flow of investment from abroad is abysmally low.

Coming down heavily on Naveen government, the PCC chief said Odisha is lagging behind other states in the country in attracting Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) despite the Chief Minister’s visits to foreign countries.

Bijay Patnaik sought to know from the state government as to how much investment the Chief Minister has brought from his foreign tours to Rome, Dubai, and now to Japan.

As per RTI information, only 5 foreign investors have come to the state between 2016 and 2022 and investments of only Rs 1368 crore have been received during the period, the Congress leaders claimed.

Dubbing the Make In Odisha conclaves being organised by the state government as an exercise to hoodwink people, both PCC chief and Bijay Patnaik claimed that Rs 20.79 crore was spent for the mega event in 2016.

Similarly, Rs 34.51 crore was spent for Make In Odisha in 2018, he said and sought to know many Odias were on the dais during the 2022 conclave. The money spent in 2022 to host the conclave is yet to be announced by the government, said Bijay, adding  though crores of rupees were spent, no significant investment in Odisha could be seen.

While the government claims to have attracted nearly Rs 16 lakh crore as investment proposals from within the country and abroad, the exact figure of investment on the ground is yet to be announced, the former IAS officer said.

As lakhs of workers from Odisha are migrating to other states for work, the government’s claims about investment and employment generation are misleading, the former chief secretary said.

Reacting sharply to the Congress leaders’ remarks, senior BJD leader and Khandapada MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik said Bijay Patnaik had held important positions in the state government. Apart from being principal secretary to the Chief Minister, Bijay Patnaik was also chief secretary, he said.

Therefore, Bijay Patnaik should first tell about the achievements made during his tenure before raising questions over the present situation, the BJD leader said.