Bhubaneswar: Congress President Rahul Gandhi, who was in the state capital to attend an event and address a public rally on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar Friday, came down heavily on the BJD-ruled state government in general and the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in particular.
Taking the CM head on, the AICC chief accused him of being hand in glove with the BJP and Narendra Modi. “Naveen Patnaik is remote controlled by the Prime Minister. Modi presses the button and Naveen acts. Odisha is now being governed from Nagpur (RSS) and Delhi because the government here is corrupt.”
Addressing a large gathering at Tamando, Rahul said that BJD has been overwhelmingly supporting the Centre on crucial matters like the Goods and Services Tax (GST), demonetisation and others whenever needed.
The Congress president also alleged that like Narendra Modi, Naveen too has been promoting selected industrialists. He said, “Modi and Naveen seem to have the same mentality. Both pick 15-20 industrialists and provide them with all benefits. In turn, they take the help of these industrialists to market themselves. Moreover, both have been heavily relying on bureaucrats to run their governments.”
Raising the pre-election tempo, Rahul Gandhi, who was accompanied by the the party’s Odisha-in-charge Jitendra Singh, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) chief Niranjan Patnaik and a battery of local leaders, announced that if voted to power in the State, the party would waive all farm loans.
He said, “I am not like Modi who forgets his promise. I will deliver the promises soon after our party forms the government as we did in Chattisgarh. We promise to waive the farm loans if we come to power in Odisha and also hike Minimum Support
Price (MSP) for paddy to `2,600 per quintal.” Attacking the BJD government for its alleged failure to tap the State’s resources, he said, “Odisha is not poor but the people of Odisha have been kept poor. It is because your natural resources are given to the selected industrialists. Though the poor toil hard, they do not get their dues. On the other hand, preferred industrialists take the cream.”
He further promised that if the Congress comes into power in Odisha it will ensure boosting food processing units in Odisha. “If we come to power we will ensure that our raw materials are processed here in Odisha are sold in the international markets.”
Targeting the state government over ‘policy paralyses’, Rahul said, “I want to ask Naveen Patnaik as to how many irrigation projects has he dedicated to the state in the last 15 years. How do you plan to assist the farmers without irrigation facilities?”
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