"Loot By Congress, BJD Kept Odisha Poor": PM's Rare Jab At Naveen Patnaik

Loot by the Congress and then Biju Janata Dal for over seven decades after Independence kept resources-rich Odisha poor, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at a rally in Behrampur today. The Prime Minister was campaigning for the BJP ahead of the state polls in Odisha that are being held alongside the general election.

"Odisha has water, fertile land, minerals, a long coastline, history, culture, God has given so much. But why are the people of Odisha poor? The answer to this is loot, first by Congress leaders and then by BJD leaders. Even small leaders of BJD have big bungalows," he said.

In a rare attack on BJD leader and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the Prime Minister asked at a rally in Ganjam why labourers from his constituency Hinjili migrate to other states. "Why are doctors' posts vacant in most hospitals here? Why do most children drop out of schools?" he asked, stressing that he never shied of providing budget to Odisha for development work.

Taking a remote control swipe at the previous Manmohan Singh government, the Prime Minister said, "When Sonia Gandhi's remote control government was in power at the Centre for 10 years and Manmohan Singh was Prime Minister, Odisha got Rs 1 lakh crore in 10 years. Modi has given Rs 3.5 lakh crore in 10 years. But only money does not ensure work."

The Prime Minister said that the Odisha government does not care about the welfare of women. "The Centre provides an assistance of Rs 6,000 to every pregnant women. You will be surprised that the Odisha government has suspended this important scheme," he said.

"The Centre sent Rs 10,000 crore rupees for Jal Jeevan Mission. The government here could not even spend that money. Modi sends money to build roads in rural areas, but the roads here are in a bad shape. Modi sends money for free rice, the BJD government sticks its own photograph on the packets," the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister said the people of Odisha have made up their minds to vote the BJP to power. "June 4 is the BJD government's expiry date. The BJP the sun of new opportunities for Odisha," he said. He also praised the Odisha unit for the BJP for coming up with a "visionary" manifesto.

A Friendly Fight?

The political battle for the 21 Lok Sabha seats and 147 Assembly seats in Odisha is interesting, primarily because of the nature of the campaign. Unlike the high-pitched political attacks and counter-attacks in other non-BJP ruled states, the BJP and its top leaders are visibly restrained in their targeting of Naveen Patnaik, who has been Odisha's chief minister for nearly 25 years now.

Behind this measured campaign is the BJD's crucial support to the NDA on several contentious legislation that helped it clear Parliament's hurdles. Despite not being a part of the BJP-led alliance, Mr Patnaik's party has provided timely backing on issues such as the Citizenship Amendment Act and the Delhi services Bill.

In fact, the BJP and the BJD had almost finalised a tie-up ahead of the polls before a change of plans at the last moment. Even months back, the Prime Minister and the Odisha Chief Minister exchanged praises at an official function. While Prime Minister Modi termed Mr Patnaik a "popular" Chief Minister, he responded by saying that the Prime Minister had "set a new direction for India" and "taking India on an accelerated drive to make it an economic powerhouse".