BJP national general secretary Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday questioned the propriety of ruling BJD and its supremo Naveen Patnaik for denigrating the BJP and its national leaders in public on their election related visits to the State through its publication of advertisements in print media.
“Odisha is not the Jagir (sole property) of the BJD or Naveen Patnaik,” Pradhan said. Dubbing the nine questions raised in advertisements with the full-size photograph of Patnaik in reference to BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi as “obnoxious”, Pradhan said, “This is nothing but a panic reaction of losing ground on the face of intense Modi wave.”
Pradhan vociferously said nothing would stop Narendra Modi to lead the NDA to return to power in Delhi. Commenting on leaders seeking votes invoking the name of lord Jagannath in public meetings, Pradhan said lord Jagannath is not the God of Odisha, but the lord of Universe. Every body has a right to worship the lord and every political party and leader has the right to hold rally in the State paying obeisance to him.
He said after being designated as the head of the campaign committee of BJP Modi had come to Puri to seek the blessings of lord Jagannath in July last year during the Rath Yatra. Besides, it was Modi who had been organising Jagannath’s Rath Yatra in a grand way in Ahmadabad, he informed.
On the question that where were they during the natural calamity, Phailin, Pradhan said, “BJD chief is trying to hoodwink the people by raising such kind of sensitive issues to woo the voters of the disaster-struck areas.”
He informed that BJP leaders, including Venkaiah Naidu, had visited the Phailin-affected areas in Gopalpur and Brahmapur. The party had also distributed large-scale relief materials to the affected people, he said, adding that the BJP doesn’t need a certificate from the BJD or Naveen for its duty and responsibility.”
He also said that the first installment of Central assistance released only after the BJP delegation led by Venkaiah Naidu met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and demanded immediate release of Rs 1,000 core.
lambasting Naveen for neck deep corruption, the major scam being Rs 60,000-core mining scam and the Rs 40,000-core chit fund scam in which his party leaders and Ministers were involved, Pradhan said, “The BJD does not want a Modi-led Government at the Centre for the fact that Naveen would face the CBI probe into these scam and corruption cases. “
Terming Patnaik’s regime as an all round failure with the crime graph, including crime against women, on the rise, Pradhan demanded that the Chief Minister clarify who turned the holy city of Puri to a city of criminals and why the killing of Guna Singhari and the murder bid on law Minister Maheswar Mohanty would not be probed by the CBI.