The BJD once again upped its ante against the BJP-led NDA Government reiterating that the Centre has always worked against the interests of Odisha, be it the issue of doling out special assistance for the KBK region or the Mahanadi water dispute with Chhattisgarh.
“Ever since campaigning for the rural polls started, Union Ministers and Chief Ministers of nearby BJP-ruled States are busy in spreading misleading information on the Central aid and Mahanadi issues,” alleged Biju Yuva Janata Das general Secretary Bijay Nayak in a statement.
He said many Union Ministers are ridiculously claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been sending money directly to gram panchayats.
Nayak added that even as Odisha, like other States, has constitutional rights to get its share from Central funds as per to the recommendations of the Finance Commissions, yet it has been deprived of its genuine share.
“The Centre is not at all showing any mercy by allocating money to Odisha as it has been earning a significant amount of revenue from Odisha in different forms like railway, coal mine and sales tax,” he pointed out and dared Union Ministers to clarify about the volume of tax the Centre is earning from Odisha before spreading rumours.
He pulled up the Centre for slashing Odisha's share in a number of Centrally-sponsored schemes and said the State Government has been continuing the schemes from its own sources for betterment of the people.
Recently, the Centre has stopped the Banabandhu Yojana affecting development of tribal people in Odisha and other States as well, he observed.
Stating that people have continuously reposed faith on Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, he said the BJD would continue to be No1 party by winning majoring of seats in the ongoing three-tier panchayat elections.