The verbal duel between the BJP and the BJD over the delay in execution of railway projects in Odisha continued with Union Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain on Saturday passing the buck to the State Government.

Addressing a Press conference at the BJP State office here, Gohain said that there is no shortage of funds, but the Railways is unable to complete several projects as the Odisha Government has failed to acquire the required land and hand it over to the Railways.

He said that nearly Rs 5,100 crore was sanctioned for development of railway infrastructure in the State for 2017-18 financial years. “The Railways is not able to carry out the projects due to land acquisition problems which need to be addressed by the Odisha Government,” said Gohain.

However, when reporters wanted to know details of the projects which have been delayed, the Minister was unable to answer the questions. The Minister said he would provide the details later. But he admitted that some senior railway officer should have been present at the Press meet to share the details.

In reaction, BJD State secretary Bijay Nayak slammed the Minister for telling reporters that he had no knowledge about the number of projects awaiting completion in Odisha and the funds allocated project-wise.

“The Minister’s ignorance indicates about the Union Government’s negligence towards Odisha. Without knowledge, the Minister only made false claims that the NDA Government has provided huge funds to Odisha for railway projects during the last three years compared to the previous Governments,” alleged Nayak.