Soroda (Odisha), May 15 (UNI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday criticised Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for setting Odisha back by 50 years during his 25-year rule.
Addressing an election meeting at Soroda in Ganjam district, considered the bastion of the Biju Janata Dal, Shah said that the days of the Naveen Patnaik government would end on June 1 when the people of Odisha will bid him goodbye and bring the Bharatiya Janata Party to power.
The Union Home Minister criticised Patnaik for not implementing the Ayushman Bharat scheme, One Nation One Ration, and other central welfare schemes launched by the Modi government, fearing that Modi would take all the credit and he would lose popularity.
Shah assured the people that once the BJP comes to power in the state, the Ayushman Bharat scheme and the One Nation One Ration scheme would be implemented.
He also slammed Patnaik for not opening the four gates of the Sri Jagannath temple for devotees and for not making the probe report of the Ratna Bhandar (temple treasury) of the Sri Jagannath temple public.
Shah asserted that on the day a BJP Chief Minister takes oath in the state, the four gates of the Sri Jagannath temple will be opened for devotees, and the probe report of the Ratna Bhandar will be made public within six days.
He asked the Chief Minister where the original key of the Ratna Bhandar is and who made the duplicate key.
Accusing the Chief Minister of protecting chit fund companies that have looted gullible investors in the state, the Union Home Minister assured the people that within 18 months of coming to power, the BJP will take stringent action against those who have looted the investments of the people.
Shah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is giving free rice to 80 crore people in the country, including Odisha, but Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is misleading people by giving free rice in a bag with his image.
He challenged the chief minister to add 2.5 kg more rice if he has the courage, instead of just providing an empty bag, so that the people will be happy and bless him.
Shah highlighted that in Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh, all villages are connected by roads, but in Odisha, 6,412 villages lack road connectivity. He promised the people, "Vote for the BJP government in the state, and we will ensure road connectivity to all villages within two years."
Shah asked the people, "You have voted Naveen to power to run the state, but he has handed over the power to a non-Odia babu to run the government."
He said, "You have given the BJD 25 years to rule the state. Give the BJP five years, and we will make the state number one in the country, and not a single youth will need to leave the state in search of a job."
Ganjam, he noted, is the Chief Minister's home district, yet there is no industry, farmers are deprived of irrigation, and drinking water has not reached the villages.
The Union Home Minister said, "We promise Ganjam district will be the number one district in the country if the BJP is voted to power in the state."
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