Union Minister of State for External Affairs General VK Singh on Tuesday opined that Special Category State (SPS) status for Odisha is not necessary as the Centre is allotting sufficient funds to the State Government.
“Special Category State status for Odisha is not necessary as the Centre is giving sufficient funds to the State Government. Despite the assistance of the Centre, Odisha has not registered development as desirable,” he rued.
Addressing a Press conference here, General Singh said, “The revenue share of the States has been raised from 32 per cent to 42 per cent. Not just Odisha, every State is being benefitted from the welfare schemes of the Union Government. The States are already getting the required assistance through different welfare schemes of the Centre,” he added.
The State’s ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) immediately hit back at the Union Minister over his statement. Party spokesperson Prashant Nanda said that in the last three years the Modi Government has done nothing for Odisha.
Rather, Nanda said that after the NDA Government came to power, allocations for the State have gone down drastically.
Odisha has been asking for SPS since 1979 and several Governments at the Centre have declined to oblige the State. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has written letters to Prime Minister Nardendra Modi on the SPS issue and also raised it in both National Development Council (NDC) and Inter State Council (ISC).
General Singh also met ex-Servicemen here on Tuesday. While interacting with the ex-Servicemen, he said people of his region had urged him to work for them and that is when he decided to join the BJP.
On the issue of Vijay Mallya, General Singh said a team of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is chalking out a process for extradition of the fugitive businessman.