Odisha

Multidimensional Poverty Index: BJP & Congress Slam Odisha Govt For ‘Dismal’ Show; BJD Counters

By
OB Bureau

Bhubaneswar: After the release of NITI Aayog’s ‘National Multidimensional Poverty Index: A Progress Review 2023’, BJP and BJD claimed about major achievements made by the Centre and Odisha government respectively in reducing poverty among people.

Congress, on its part, termed the tall claims made by both BJP and as hollow, and said a large number of farmers are reeling under abject poverty amid dwindling income, while jobless youths are hit hard due to lack of employment opportunity in the country, particularly Odisha.

While claiming about major achievements made by the party-led government at the Centre in poverty reduction between 2015-16 and 2019-2021, BJP targeted the Odisha government claiming that the state put up a dismal show during the period.

Addressing a press meet in Bhubaneswar, state BJP spokesperson Satyabrata Panda said collectively, India has lifted approximately 13.5 crore people out of multidimensional poverty in the same period. In 2015-16, one in four Indians (24.85 per cent) met the criteria for multidimensional poverty. By 2019-21, this percentage decreased to 14.96 per cent, or one in seven, the report, which examines three broad indicators of multidimensional poverty — health, education, and standard of living, each comprising various sub-indicators, said.

However, Odisha’s performance was highly disappointing as it failed miserably to implement different poverty alleviation programmes though BJD has been in power in the state for the last 23 years, the BJP leader claimed.

Unfortunately, Odisha finds itself at the seventh position from the bottom in the list of large states in terms of performance in poverty reduction, Panda claimed, adding that the state features at the same place in 2015-16.

However, senior BJD leader and former Minister D P Mishra claimed that Odisha has made rapid strides in socio-economic sector during the period. Odisha is among five states that saw steepest decline in the number of multidimensionally poor.

The state contributed to the fastest decrease in poverty in rural areas from 32.59% to 19.28% between 2015-16 and 2019-2021. The percentage of people living under multidimensional poverty in the state has decreased from 29.34 to 15.68, he said.

Hitting out at BJP and BJD over the issue, veteran Congress leader Narasingha Mishra accused both of making false claims.

Stating that the average monthly income of a farmer in Odisha stood at a paltry Rs 5112 at present, Mishra said the amount earned by farmers in the state is much less than that the minimum wages of workers.

Seeking to know as to how poverty reduction has taken place, the Congress leader said farmers have become poorer in the state due to decreasing income.

Similarly, youths are facing acute unemployment despite the BJD government’s claims about providing jobs to many, including self help group (SHG) members, he said, seeking increased investment in irrigation and education for the benefit of people.

OB Bureau

Recent Posts

Newborn Girl Found Abandoned Near Bush In Odisha’s Mayurbhanj

Baripada: A newborn girl was found lying near a bush at Bhanra village under Karanjia…

November 8, 2024

Shah Rukh Khan Bagged ‘Baazigar’ After Salman Khan Rejected It

Mumbai: Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, the leading superstars of Bollywood, came from different…

November 8, 2024

Dhanush & Nithya Menen Starrer ‘Idli Kadai’ To Release On This Date

Mumbai: Actor-filmmaker Dhanush took to his X handle on Friday to announce the release date…

November 8, 2024

National Hockey: Another Big Win Takes Odisha Closer To Knockout Stage

Chennai: Odisha all but booked a berth in the knockout stage of the 14th Hockey…

November 8, 2024

Traffic Restrictions For Panchaka, Badaosa At Dhabaleswar Temple In Odisha’s Cuttack; Check Details

Cuttack: Several traffic restrictions have been imposed to ensure smooth movement of devotees to Dhabaleswar…

November 8, 2024

Late Sidhu Moose Wala’s Brother Is A Carbon Copy Of Him

Mumbai: Sidhu Moose Wala's parents Balkaur Singh and Charan Kaur shared a picture of their…

November 8, 2024

Unique Protest: No Dating, No Sex, No Babies With Men Who Voted For Donald Trump

New York: A group of American women has launched an unprecedented protest against men who…

November 8, 2024

4 More Handicrafts Granted Official Approval In Odisha; Total Number Now 55

Bhubaneswar: Four more handicrafts were granted approval by the Odisha government, taking the total number…

November 8, 2024