Bhubaneswar: December 26: The Odisha unit of Congress on Tuesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) of being hand-in-glove and ignoring the interests of the state.
The Congress’s barb came a day after the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who attacked the BJD government on several issues but did not name Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and his party for the alleged misgovernance in the state.
“Both Naveen and Modi have betrayed people of Odisha. They are trying to hoodwink people by taking the name of Lord Jagannath. The doubt about a secret nexus between the BJP and the BJD has been proved true,” said Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Niranjan Patnaik.
He accused Naveen Patnaik and Narendra Modi of trying to fool the people by giving false assurances.
However, the ruling BJD said that their party has maintained equidistant from both Congress and BJP.
“We have always kept equal distance from both BJP and Congress. We are accountable to people of Odisha because they have reposed faith in us for four consecutive times and we don’t need to answer the BJP or the Congress,” said BJD MP Pratap Deb.
Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the Prime Minister questioned the state government on several issues including growing corruption in the state.
“Everyone knows who the demon of corruption is. Several people are in jail for their involvement in chit fund scam. Whose MLAs and MPs are behind bars? Who are taking PC (percentage commission)?” he asked.
On Monday, Modi during a rally in Khurda had attacked the state government on corruption, farmer issues, malnutrition and cleanliness.
“What is the reason that from chit fund to PC culture, the demon of corruption has become so powerful in Odisha? Who is feeding the demon?” asked the Prime Minister. (IANS)
