Naveen’s Surat Tour A Political Stunt: Opposition

Bhubaneswar: A day before Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s visit to Surat for the Odisha Mahotsav, the opposition BJP and the Congress on Sunday termed it a political stunt.

“The Chief Minister is shedding crocodile tears for the non-resident Odias in Surat. Leave alone Surat, the Chief Minister, during his 19-year rule, never gave a thought to the plight of the Odias in Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad. His Surat visit is an attempt to woo the Odias, who belong to Ganjam district, since they have decided to vote the Chief Minister out of power in the forthcoming assembly elections,” BJP leader and Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan said.

Commenting on Naveen’s Surat tour, senior Congress leader Narasingha Mishra said since the Assembly elections are round the corner, the Chief Minister will try to woo the Odias in Surat most of whom belong to Ganjam district. “Maybe he realised it now and decided to visit Surat,” he pointed out.

Congress leader Srikant Jena said most of the Odias have gone to Surat to work as labourers in the textile factories. “The Chief Minister should realise this and take necessary steps for the development of the textile sector in Odisha and modernisation of the defunct Odisha Textile Mills (OTM). I had requested the Chief Minister to set up a textile complex in Ganjam district. But it seems that he is not bothered about its development in the state,” he said.

Since most of the non-resident Odias residing in Surat belong to Ganjam district, the Chief Minister is going there to seek their vote for the ensuing Assembly elections, he added.

The BJD, on the other hand, has refuted these allegations .

“Dharmendra Babu should not forget that it is for the non-resident Odias in Surat that the BJP has managed to stay in power in Gujarat. He had gone to Surat recently with a hope that the non-resident Odias who had played a major role in the Assembly elections in Gujarat and helped the BJP to retain power in the state, will do the same in Odisha. This is nothing but a daydream. The Chief Minister has immense love for the Odias and he has taken all possible measures for the welfare of the community in other states. For the non-resident Odias in Surat, he has written letters to the Centre to introduce a direct flight from Surat to Bhubaneswar and introduce more trains from Surat to Berhampur for their convenience. Considering the above, it is unfortunate that the opposition is politicising the issue,” BJD spokesperson Pratap Deb told mediapersons here.