Bhubaneswar: Intensifying his attack against the 22-year-old Naveen Patnaik government in Odisha, BJP president JP Nadda on Friday called upon party workers to ensure that the state becomes “BJD mukt” (BJD free).
He also accused the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) dispensation of re-branding central schemes as those of its own and making fake bills to misappropriate MGNREGA funds.
“If you sincerely want to see a developed state, you have to do hard work and make Odisha BJD mukt,” Nadda told a gathering of the BJP’s frontal organisations.
“To ensure a developed India, we need to develop all states including Odisha. And for the overall development of Odisha, the state has to get rid of the BJD,” the BJP president said to loud applause from the gathering.
Nadda, who was on a two-day visit to Odisha since Thursday, charged the BJD government with hijacking the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and re-branding it as its own – Biju Pucca Ghar Yojana.
“Modi ji is facilitating houses for the poor and needy while the credit is being taken by the BJD,” he said and asked the frontal organisations to make people aware of this.
He also claimed that the Centre sanctioned Rs 15,490 crore under MGNREGA in Odisha, but fake bills are being made to misappropriate funds.
The BJP president also attacked the BJD government for not implementing the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme.
“The government is depriving free of cost healthcare benefits to about 60 lakh families in Odisha. Should we allow a government to continue, which denies health benefits to the poor?” Nadda said.
Claiming that the poor and tribal people in Odisha still consume water from open ponds and well, Nadda said that under the Jal Jeevan Mission, the Modi government gave Rs 4,966 crore to the state.
“Each and every member of the BJP has to fight against these corrupt practices in Odisha to bring the BJP to power,” Nadda said.
Nadda also held the state government responsible for mismanagement in Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri, asserting that the original key of the shrine’s ‘Ratna Bhandar’ (treasure chest) has gone missing.
The BJP president also sought to counter Patnaik’s earlier statement that ‘bosses’ of national parties sit in Delhi while his boss is the 4.5 crore people of Odisha.
“Our boss does not sit in Delhi, but our Pradhan Sevak operates from the national capital. We do not use the word like Boss, but Sevak. Anyway, who is a boss? Mahaprabhu Jagannath is the boss of 130 crore people of India,” Nadda said.
Modi once described himself as the ‘Pradhan Sevak’ of the country and not the ‘Pradhan Mantri’.
Nadda said that Modi is engaged in working to address the plights of the poor, women, Dalit, tribals and others as he abolished the ‘triple talaq’ system giving freedom to Muslim women.
“Today I can say with great pride that under the leadership of Modi ji, Odisha has got the privilege of becoming the home state of the country’s first tribal woman President,” he said referring to Droupadi Murmu.
He alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi goes to the people of the ‘Tukde-Tukde’ gang who want to break the country and raise slogans in support of terrorists.
”It is unfortunate that people with such ideological background are driving the Congress now,” he said
Nadda also attended a core committee meeting of the party’s state unit before leaving for Delhi.
PTI
