Bhubaneswar: In a stinging attack on Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, senior BJP leader and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday accused him of betraying the people by stating that Padampur will be made a district within a year without specifying a definite timeline.
The senior BJP leader slammed Naveen in a series of tweets after the Chief Minister during his Bargarh visit said that Padampur will be accorded district status in a year as per the promise made before the bypoll to the Assembly seat last year.
“The promise made by the Chief Minister to make Padampur a district is still confined to announcement. This shows that the people of Padampur have been betrayed,” Dharmendra said.
The statement made by the Chief Minister in Padampur showed he was reading out a note written by someone else instead of speaking his own mind, the Union Minister said.
After remaining Chief Minister for 23 years, it was improper on the part of Naveen in trying to take creaid for giving CHC status to a Paikmal PHC in Padampur, he said.
Even after the Chief Minister took charge of two Assembly constituencies in Bargarh district, a large number of youths from the region are forced to move out of the state in search of employment, Dharmendra claimed, seeking to know as to when Naveen will provide employment to the jobless.
The Union Minister also sought an answer from the Chief Minister on whether state undertaking Odisha Rail Infrastructure Development Ltd (ORIDL) has properly done its duty relating to Bargarh-Nuapada rail line project.
Asking Naveen as to why the state government involved private companies in crop insurance scheme, the BJP leader soght to know whether the state government has provided Rs 100 bonus for farmers announced at Sohela in Bargarh.
Dharmendra also asked the Chief Minister to tell as to when he will keep the promise about providing irrigation facility in Bargarh and specify a timeline about the project. The CM should tell as to when the people of Bargarh will get its benefit, he said.
The BJP leader also put posers seeking clarification from the Chief Minister if the state government has not committed a corruption of Rs 1,000 crore in Pradhan Mantri Away Yojana (PMAY) execution. He also sought to know whether there was partiality against Bargarh and other western Odisha districts in distribution of houses under PMAY.
In a scathing attack on Naveen, the Union Minister claimed that the CM adopted schemes only for political advantage, while BJP believes in both adoption and execution of programmes and fulfillment of promises.
