Sonepur (Odisha), April 25 (Representative) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday kicked off BJP’s electioneering in Odisha, making a scathing attack on Naveen Patnaik government for indulging in corruption while running the government with officers. Addressing an election rally in Sonepur in Western Odisha , a stronghold of the party, Shah appealed to the people to bring the BJP to power in the state and make Odisha a number one state in the country. The Union Minister sharpened his attack on the Chief Minister asking the people to root out the Naveen Patnaik government from the state.
“You have given power to Naveen Patnaik for 25 years and now give five years to BJP. We will ensure that the state will march ahead with development as happened in other states run by the double engine government”, he remarked. He said Odisha, despite of having the huge mineral deposits and water resources, has not witnessed the development during the last 25 years of Naveen Patnaik government. The Union minister said Modi ji had given Rs.10,000 crores to the state for providing the safe drinking water and piped water to every household in the state but the Naveen Patnaik government has miserably failed to utilise the amount . Shah promised the people that if voted to power in Odisha BJP will provide piped water to each and every household in the state . Lakhs of people from Odisha were migrating every year to Mumbai, Gujarat, Delhi, Bangalore and other states in search of jobs, he said and assured the people that if voted to power BJP will ensure that not a single man will move out of the state for a job. The Home Minister also came down heavily on the Naveen Patnaik government stating that the government which ignored the state’s pride, culture,tradition cannot take the state forward .
Shah also slammed Patnaik for taking all the credits of the various welfare programmes like supply of subsidized rice and PM Abas Yojana launched by Modi government by pasting his photographs in these schemes. He accused the Odisha Chief Minister of diverting the attention of the people of the state on “Pran Pratishtha” ceremony at the “historic” Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir in Ayodhya by inaugurating the Sri Mandir Parikrma Project before the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple. Shah said Patnaik did it just to see that Modi ji will not take the credit of the construction of Ram temple project and announced that Jagannath Temple in Puri will be developed like Kashi Vishwanath corridor if BJP comes to power in the state. He further said that Naveen Patnaik is hesitant to implement Ayushman Bharat scheme in the state fearing that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take the credit. Stating that the Modi-wave has gripped the entire country, the Minister asked the people to vote for BJP candidates in 20 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha to see Modi ji becoming Prime Minister for the third time. He also assured the people of the region that if voted to power in Odisha,the BJP will establish a Textile industry for the farmers growing high quality cotton in the area, setup Fisheries college for the benefit of the fishermen and agro based industries for the welfare of the farmers of the region.