Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) treasurer and senior leader Md Moquim on Saturday reacted strongly to the statement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Odisha is known in the country for its poverty and under development.
Referring to the statement of the Prime Minister at an election rally in Uttar Pradesh, Moquim said Prime Minister Modi has forgotten that the BJP was part of the Government in Odisha from 2000 to 2009 and AB Vajpayee was also Prime Minister till 2004. “Poverty and starvation in Odisha made international headlines in that period,” he asserted.
Addressing a Press conference here, Moquim asked the Prime Minister as to what he has done for Odisha during almost three years he is in power. He said several schemes were introduced by the UPA Government from MGNREGA, Rajiv Gandhi Vidut Yojana, Ration Card to many others for which the NDA Government is taking credit. He lamented that schemes like the Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF), Integrated Action Plan (IAP) and KBK have been stopped by the Modi- led BJP Government.
He also criticised the Prime Minister for not fulfilling election promises made by him. He asked why the Prime Minister was not considering giving special package to Odisha.
Maintaining that the statement of Modi is an insult to the people of Odisha, Moquim said that the BJP should not be under an impression that it is in a position to grab power in Odisha given the rise in its seats in the panchayat polls.
