Bhubaneswar: Senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Saturday said BJD and BJP were two sides of a coin and were running the government in Odisha in covert understanding to exploit its resources and people.
Addressing a presser at Congress Bhavan in Bhubaneswar, Pilot said BJD and BJP were running double-engine government in the state but were fighting the elections separately only to hoodwink the voters. “The BJP has failed to give an account of its achievements at the Centre for the last 10 years, while the BJD has not taken any step for development during the period,” he said.
He attacked the BJD government by calling it non-performing. “Rampant corruption prevails in Odisha under the present regime while the BJP government at the Centre looks the other way. Both BJD and BJP have common interests which were reflected in their past actions,” he said.
The Congress leader said the INDIA bloc has forged ahead in the four phases of elections completed so far. On the other hand, the BJP has gone on back foot in several states in north India including Rajasthan where it is in power.
Earlier, addressing an election rally in Balasore Lok Sabha constituency in support of party candidate and former Union minister Srikant Jena, Pilot lashed out at the Centre for trying to demolish the democratic structures in the country.
He accused the Narendra Modi government of making India opposition-free. They have frozen the bank accounts of the Congress and sent two chief ministers to jail. “The credibility of major constitutional bodies is at stake due to the autocratic style of functioning of Modi. Attempts are also being made to weaken the judiciary, Election Commission and media,” he added.
Claiming that the BJP government had completely failed to check the prices of essential commodities, including fuel and cooking gas, Pilot said, “People across the country have made up their minds to change the government at the Centre which has failed to fulfill its promises of ‘acche din’.”
