Modi targets BJD, Cong with corruption charges
ATTACK Says both the parties ignored needs of people for their own interests
JHARSUGUDA/RAIPUR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday targeted Odisha’s Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government and the Congress party for allegedly being involved in corrupt activities and ignoring the needs of the common people.
Addressing separate rallies in Odisha and Chhattisgarh, the Prime Minister said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led governments both at the Centre and states were focused on ensuring the welfare of the masses.
Modi, who inaugurated Odisha’s second airport at Jharsuguda and laid the foundation stone of a fertiliser factory at Talcher, said a “bribe culture” had become the hallmark of the Naveen Patnaik-led state government.
“Corruption and delay in decision-making have become hallmarks of Odisha… Building a house or constructing a toilet is not possible in Odisha without paying any bribe. Some people are calling it percentage commission or PC. Because of the PC, the people of Odisha are feeling oppressed,” Modi said as he addressed two public meetings in the state.
Modi said he would return to inaugurate the Talcher unit three years later, expressing confitenure dence of the BJP winning next year’s Lok Sabha lections.
The PM also took on CM Patnaik for keeping Odisha out of Centre’s flagship Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme, signalling that there may not be a tie-up between the BJP and the BJD for the 2019 Lok Sabha and Odisha assembly elections. Political circles were abuzz with murmurs that the two sides might reach a truce after the BJD backed the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate for the Rajya Sabha deputy chairperson post.
“Everyone is aware of the importance of Ayushman Bharat scheme, but Naveen babu does not understand. Odisha government should come forward and join,” he said.
Patnaik brushed aside Modi attack, stating: “Instead of making such allegations, the PM should think to reign in skyrocketing prices of diesel and petrol and look into several scams of his government”.
During his rally in Chhattisgarh’s Janjgir, Modi said the BJP government’s “policies are clean and intention is clear”, adding that the state had seen unprecedented development during the of CM Raman Singh.
“(Earlier) the news (from the state), would be about abduction and bloodshed by misguided youth... But, the BJP-led Chhattisgarh government braved all these challenges with an aim to take the state on the rapid path of development,” Modi said.
He said former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s initiative of carving out smaller states like Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand had paved the way for the development of areas that were earlier neglected. “Had Chhattisgarh remained a part of Madhya Pradesh and the Congress continued to be in power at the Centre, there would have been no development in the state,” he said.
The Prime Minister said that now every rupee allocated for developmental work was reaching the people unlike earlier when only 15 paisa of a rupee used to reach the masses, as was once said by former PM Rajiv Gandhi.
During his visit, Modi also laid foundation stones of developmental projects worth over ₹ 3,000 crore. Reacting to Modi’s remarks, Congress said the PM should first talk about the Rafale deal. “Modi ji is talking about rupee and paisa instead of Rafale which is now the biggest scam in the history of this country. Modi ji is avoiding the questions which the people of this country are asking,” said Congress spokesperson RP Singh.