Mallikarjun Kharge Confident Congress Will Bounce Back In Odisha, Says BJP Not To Cross 200 Seats In LS

Bhubaneswar: Congress will emerge once again in Odisha after 24 years as people now know both BJP and BJD have ruined the state and brought miseries to them, claimed Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday.

Addressing a press conference in Bhubaneswar, Kharge lashed out at BJP and BJD holding them responsible for Odisha’s backwardness. “Both BJP and BJD are responsible for destroying Odisha and people may not give another chance to BJD,” he said during a day-long visit to garner support for Congress candidates in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the state.

Coming down heavily on the BJD government, the Congress chief cited 41 per cent unemployment rate in the state as per the recent ILO report and said Odisha is known for unemployment, inflation and availability of low-cost labourers and so what has Naveen Patnaik done. “If a man sits at one place for 24 years and does not think about his people … how is he asking for votes I do not understand with a lost face?” he questioned.

He said both BJD and BJP are equally responsible for Odisha’s loss. “For the last 10 years, Narendra Modi was also with Patnaik and now they are openly fighting. Congress will benefit from their fight.”

Stating that Odisha’s BJD government is known in the country as a corrupt regime involved in chit-fund, mining and other scams, he said, “There is an abundance of natural resources in Odisha and those are used in industries outside the state. But people here are unemployed. The government has looted the natural resources. All big plants here were set up before BJD came to power.”

BJP is equally responsible as it did not help people and left everything on the chief minister, Kharge said.

“If we have to remove the ills, we will have to change both the governments at the Centre and state,” the Congress chief added.

Kharge said Odisha is an important state for Congress and many party leaders were from the state including during freedom struggle. “Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru ji got the support from Biju Patnaik sahab during independence struggle,” he said.

He counted the achievements of the Congress in UPA I and II including enactments of Food Security Act, Right to Education and implementation of MNREGA, and reminded about BJP’s false promise of Rs 15 lakh in everyone’s account.

“Our Gathbandhan government is trying to save democracy and constitution. We are also fighting against hate speeches and want to keep India united.”

The Congress chief also claimed BJP will get not more than 200 seats in the Lok Sabha. “On what basis is Modi ji claiming Ab ki baar, 400 paar, I do not know,” he said.