Modi targets Naveen: ‘BJD govt expiry date is June 4’
■ You gave 50 years to Cong, 25 to BJD… Now give BJP 5 years: PM
◗ ADDRESSING HIS first rally in the state, where the BJP has been trying to unseat the ruling BJD, the PM urged people to give a chance to the BJP to make Odisha the number one state in India
The BJP will form a double-engine government here after the ongoing election… I have come here to invite you to the swearing-in ceremony of the BJP’s CM on June 10
— Narendra Modi, Prime Minister
Patnaik would take oath as the CM of Odisha for the sixth consecutive time between 11.30 am to 1.30 pm June 9
— V.K. Pandian, Naveen Patnaik’s aide
Calling himself the “son of Lord Jagannath”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday asserted that the “expiry date” of the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD government in Odisha is June 4, the day the Assembly election results will be announced.
Addressing his first election rally in the state, where the BJP has been desperately trying to unseat the ruling BJD, Mr Modi urged people to give a chance to the BJP to make Odisha the number one state in the country. The Prime Minister also said that the BJP has given the nation’s highest post to a “daughter of Odisha” (President Droupadi Murmu).
In an apparent dig at the BJD president, chief minister Naveen Patnaik, the Prime Minister said: “Odisha needs a CM who understands the Odia language and culture.” In Odia political circles, it is assumed that Naveen Patnaik does not have a command over the Odia language.
“The BJP will form a double-engine government here after the ongoing election. The expiry date of the BJD government is June 4, 2024,” Mr Modi said at the Berhampur rally. At yet another rally in Nabarangpur, the tribal heartland of Odisha, the Prime Minister claimed that his government has been working for the welfare of indigenous people.
“You have seen the track record of ten years of Modi's leadership. Modi increased the budget for tribal welfare by five times than the earlier allocation,” the PM said at the Nabaragpur rally.
In a reference to the cash seizures in Jharkhand, the PM also claimed: “Modi is being criticised for stopping corruption and loot”. Notably, the Enforcement Directorate on Monday claimed to have recovered a huge amount of “unaccounted” cash during searches at the premises of a domestic help allegedly linked to the secretary of Jharkhand minister Alamgir Alam.
Mr Modi said that his government at the Centre has set up “Eklavya Model Residential” schools in tribal areas and the number of such schools has crossed 400, he said. People belonging to ST, SC and OBC categories comprise seven per cent of his ministry, the PM added.
Mr Modi also claimed that Odisha has not benefited from the Ayushman Bharat Yojana as the “BJD government did not implement” it in the state.
The Centre gave `10,000 crores under the “Jal Jeevan Mission” scheme to Odisha but the “BJD could not spend the money properly”, he said, adding that paddy farmers in Chhattisgarh get MSP of `3,100 per quintal, but those in Odisha receive `2,100.
He also accused the BJD government of “not allowing schemes made by Prime Minister Modi to be implemented in Odisha”.
The PM claimed that the people of Odisha have strength and passion, but the BJD government did not give them the right opportunities. “You have given 50 years to the Congress and 25 years to the BJD. Just give five years to the BJP. We will make Odisha the number one state in the country,” Mr Modi said at the rally.
He also said: “We released a visionary manifesto for Odisha promising jobs for youths and women and health facilities for senior citizens. The BJP fulfils what it says.” The Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Odisha will be held simultaneously in the state. “I have come here to invite you to the swearingin ceremony of the BJP’s CM on June 10. On that day, we will implement the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, which the Naveen Patnaik government has been resisting. This son of Lord Jagannath will take care of all senior citizens under this scheme,” Mr Modi said.
Responding to Mr Modi’s claims, senior BJD leader and Naveen Patnaik’s close aide V.K. Pandian said: “Patnaik would take oath as the chief minister of Odisha for the sixth consecutive time between 11.30 am to 1.30 pm on June 9.”
Mr Modi said Odisha will get “new energy and new leadership after the Assembly elections”. He added: “A person, who lives, understands and takes pride in Odia culture and tradition, can help resolve the problems of Odisha at a faster pace”.
Odisha has fertile land, mineral resources, and sea coasts, but people are still poor, Mr Modi claimed. The PM said that Odisha lags behind in every development parameter despite having huge resources like mineral wealth, and a vast coastline. “Who is responsible for Odisha's backwardness? Why are the people of resource-rich Odisha still poor? The answer is rampant loot by the Congress, which ruled the state for 50 years, and then the BJD for the next 25 years. The BJD is sinking, while the Congress is a spent force and the BJP is the only ray of hope for the people,” he said.
The PM also said that the BJP has given the country's highest post to a daughter of Odisha. “It is my good fortune that President Droupadi Murmu ji always tells me about the development of Odisha. I feel that I will be able to do a lot for the state under her guidance,” he added.