Bhawanipatna: BJP national president JP Nadda on Friday tore into the BJD government in Odisha while questioning the governance mechanism and calling it a 50% commission state.
“I wonder who has been running Odisha! Is this the officers or leaders who are running this state? Someone told me that it’s actually the officers who are running the state. Naveen Patnaik has outsourced governance to bureaucrats. No one pays heed to elected representatives here, including BJD MPs and MLAs,” he said after beginning his address at the party’s ‘Garib Kalyan Samabesh’organised at Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium in Kalahandi district on the occasion of completion of nine years of Modi government with ‘Jai Jagannath’ and paying tribute to victims of the triple train crash in Odisha.
The BJP chief said it is time for lotus to bloom in Odisha, which has remained backward despite the 23-year BJD rule with lowest per capita income, lowest average monthly income for agricultural households and increasing incidents of crime against women.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has provided ration to 3.5 crore people of Odisha. Today, the world acknowledges his leadership. Nobel Prize winner Paul Romer is also all praise for PM Modi. Some call him ‘Hero’, some call him ‘Boss’, some refer to him as reformer! But it’s unfortunate that Congress is unable to digest the praise and love being showered on him,” he said while coming down heavily on the opposition’s grand meeting in Patna led by Bihar chief minister and Janata Dal (United) JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar.
Nadda further said that the actual beneficiaries are not getting houses under PMAY in Odisha. “Ineligible persons are getting houses. There will be a probe. I will speak to Union Minister Giriraj Singh. Those involved in the scam will be put behind bars” he said.
He further said that 11 crore people have availed the benefits of Ayushman Bharat Yojana but people of Odisha are being deprived of the scheme since Naveen Patnaik is not implementing it. “Everyone is aware of the importance of the scheme, but CM Naveen Ji does not understand. The scheme aims to provide Rs 5 lakh health insurance coverage per family,” he said.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Odisha BJP Pravari D Purandeswari and local MLA and former Leader of Opposition Pradipta Nayak were present.
Nadda is scheduled to hold discussion with saffron workers of Kalahandi Lok Sabha constituency and meet a few prominent citizens in different fields before flying back to Delhi this afternoon.
Earlier ion the day, Nadda flew to Bhawanipatna in a special chopper from Burla and offered prayers at Maa Manikeswari temple before being escorted in a grand rally to the meeting venue.
“The party is taking the message of “new India” and “welfare of the poor” during the nine years of Modi’s governance to the people’s doorsteps as part of the ‘Maha Janasampark’ programme marking nine years of Modi government’s glorious service to the people,” state BJP president Manmohan Samal.
On Thursday, Nadda had sought feedback on the party’s organisational strength during a meeting in Jharsuguda, where he landed in the evening after addressing a public meeting at Giridih district in the neighbouring state of Jharkhand. This tour is being seen as a step to consolidate BJP’s strength in western parts of Odisha, where the party had won all the five Lok Sabha seats in 2019, before the state goes to polls in 2024.
