PM Modi blasts BJD, Congress in Odisha rally

Bhawanipatna: Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Odisha and fired on all cylinders targeting the ruling Biju Janata Dal and the Congress. The PM, without taking names, criticized the BJD and Congress.

“The two parties have used the poor and farmers in the state as ‘vote bank’ and later betrayed them after coming to power. Large numbers of people are migrating to other states in search of work,” he stated.

Mr Modi further cornered the BJD government over chit fund and mining
scams. He alleged that the Odisha Government, during its 19 years of
rule, had only given patronage to fraudsters, chit fund and mining
Mafias.

“The state’s natural resources which could have been utilised to
enrich the lives of poor people here have been given to chit fund and
mining mafias. Thousands of people have been looted by chit fund firms
who got direct patronage of the local government,” he added.

Speaking in the same vein, Mr Modi questioned the people, “Do you need
a chit fund mafia or a Chowkidar? Do you need a mining mafia or a
Chowkidar?”

The PM also condemned the BJD Government over the latter’s
‘non-cooperation’ in Centrally-sponsored schemes like PM-KISAN scheme
and Ayushman Bharat. “While around 12 crores of farmers are getting
direct benefits under the PM-KISAN scheme, the BJD Government is
standing as a wall between the farmers and the scheme,” he said.

 Assuring that BJP would bring improvement in the lives of poor people
in Odisha if voted to power, Mr Modi appealed the people to cast their
votes in favour of the saffron party in Bhubaneswar and in New Delhi
to form a ‘double engine’ government.

Besides, the PM also highlighted various achievements during his last
five years of rule and said, “24 lakh houses in Odisha have access to
electricity, 8 lakh people have pucca houses, 40 lakh poor households
have got gas connections, 1.40 crore bank accounts have been opened
and 50 lakh toilets constructed in the last five years.”

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