Padmapur: Taking a jibe at Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik said the CM has been a puppet of a handful of government officers.
He was addressing the party’s ‘Paribartan Sankalp Samavesh’ at Balimeda panchayat under Basudevpur block in Bhadrak district Sunday.
Niranjan also took potshots at the Central government over various issues.
The Congress veteran said the loan burden on the state has spiraled to Rs 1 lakh crore from Rs 18,000 crore in the last 18 years.
As the government has failed to create job scope for the youths in the state, 60 lakh Odias have been working outside the state, he alleged.
He also observed that the state government has made people idle by providing them Re 1/kg rice while Odias need to save their pride.
He promised that if Congress is voted to power, it will waive off agriculture loans, raise paddy MSP to Rs 2,600 per quintal and work of Coast Canal and Mantei bridge will be carried out in three years.
PNN
