Continuing its attack on Odisha’s ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on a range of issues, including alleged corruption, nepotism and propping up an “outsider” to rule the state, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday explicitly made its intention clear with regard to the party’s ‘Mission Odisha’ goal.
The BJP national president, JP Nadda, while addressing his first election rally at Berhampur in Ganjam district, said the Naveen Patnaik-led government had been involved in multitude corruption cases and people were deprived of good governance as some officers ran the administration.
“The Naveen Patnaik government in Odisha is highly corrupt. Blacklisted contractors are being awarded work contracts, including the Jal Jeevan Mission works. Is it not a crime committed against the people? Why does Naveen Patnaik indulge in such activities? Should we not vote against this government to remove it from power for good and transparent governance?” Nadda asked, as the crowd cheered his observations and replied to his queries in affirmative.
The BJP president raised the issue of the mammoth chit fund scam which left nearly 20 lakh people of Odisha in tatters.
“As many as 160 chit fund firms looted over Rs 35,000 crore from 20 lakh people in Odisha. Surprisingly, no efforts were made to return money to the ruined depositors,” Nadda said.
In an indirect reference to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik propping up his former private secretary and bureaucrat-turned-politician V. Karthikeyan Pandian, a native of Tamil Nadu, his successor Nadda said, “It is a matter of serious concern. Has there not anybody in Odisha to lead the Odia people? Yahaan koee dharatee putr nahi hai kya (Is there not any son of the son of the soil here?),” he asked.
In a veiled attack to the Congress, Nadda said, “Ten years ago, people in our country thought that nothing would happen here. Their pessimism came in the backdrop of the then political situation. However, Narendra Modi changed the culture of politics. Earlier, politics was about caste and religion. Some people did this kind of politics to further their political interests.”
