Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on April 28 hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik saying they were in partnership aimed at benefiting a select few.
“The way PM Modi runs government, which seems to revolve around a core of 20-25 billionaires, Odisha CM’s governance style also appears to prioritize a select group. The lion’s share of benefits flow to a chosen few, leaving the remainder bewildered and overlooked,” Mr. Gandhi said, addressing a massive public meeting at Salipur in Cuttack district.
“In Telangana, the Bharatiya Janata Party [BJP] and Bharat Rashtra Samithi [BRS] had a marriage, characterized by daily theatrics. However, the Congress exposed the BJP and BRS were two sides of same coin. If anyone held the mantle of opposition in Telangana, it was the Congress. We pledged five guarantees, ensuring direct cash transfers to the bank accounts of the underprivileged,” he said.
“BRS had benefited a small group. We assured that Congress was going to give the same amount of money to poor which BRS had given to rich in Telangana. When assembly election took place, the BRS disappeared and Congress came to power,” said Congress leader.
Drawing parallel to his Telangana narrative, Mr. Gandhi said, “similarly, BJP and BJD are in partnership in Odisha which benefited same 22 people. Adani was handed over State while Uncle ji [PM Modi] and Naveen babu presented Odisha people ‘Paan’ which means the State is run by Pandian [V. K. Pandian, close aide of Odisha CM]. These people had looted people’s money.”
The Congress MP listed different alleged scams that hit Odisha. “About ₹9 lakh crore, which belong to people, were looted in mining scam, ₹20,000 crore was siphoned off in land grab and plantation drive scam involves ₹15,000 crore. There is long list of scams in Odisha. When Congress comes to power in Centre and State, we will start paying the money back to people,” he pointed out.
Mr. Gandhi reiterated different benefits and guarantees announced by Congress in the run up to the election. They include assistance of ₹1 lakh to a woman member of a family per annum, ₹1 lakh for year-long apprenticeship of unemployed youths, legal guarantee for minimum support price for agricultural products, ₹400 per day for labourers being engaged in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and doubling of salary of ASHA and Anganwadi workers.
