Whatever Naveen Babu Gives, It’s Only To Pandian: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

Malkangiri: Taking a dig at his Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister of Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said that his conversations are confined to ‘okay’.

“Whenever Odisha CM is asked something, he says ‘okay, okay’. Here, the villages are still being identified by number which should have been changed long ago. Have you seen such a practice anywhere else? Jail mein kaidiyon ka number hota hai (prisoners are recognised by number in jail),” he told a gathering while addressing a BJP rally in Malakangiri. 

These will be made into revenue villages once BJP comes to power in Odisha, he added.

With an eye on the Bengali-speaking population in Malkangiri, the Assam CM said Bengali teachers will be made available wherever Bengali people are there in Odisha. “It has to be done because as per the new education policy, Bengali people and also tribal people have the rights to get education till Class V in their own language.”

He said that women in Chhattisgarh and Assam are being given Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,250 a month respectively, but in Odisha, they will get a cash voucher of Rs 50,000 which can be withdraw in two years, Rs 25,000 a year. “Has Naveen babu ever given anything like this? Free rice is being given by PM Modi. Whatever Naveen babu has to give, he only gives to V K Pandian and no one else,” he asserted since the saffron party has long been accusing the BJD government of trying to pass off the subsidised rice scheme of the Centre as its own initiative.  

He also assured that the BJP government will purchase paddy from the farmers of the state at Rs 3,100 per quintal.

Criticising the BJD government for rising unemployment in Odisha, he said youths are unable to get jobs here and exam question papers are also getting leaked. “If BJP government is formed, we will give jobs to 3 lakh youths on the basis of merit. Modi guarantee is set on the stone and will be implemented at all costs,” he said, while urging the people of the constituency to vote for BJP both in the Assembly and Lok Sabha segments to facilitate formation of a double-engine government, which can accelerate the development process in the state. 

There will be BJP government both in Odisha and at the Centre, he added.