Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday tore into the BJD Government on the plight of farmers, tribals and the poor in the State.
Addressing an election rally here, Gandhi accused the Naveen Patnaik Government of gross apathy towards farmers. "Over 4,000 farmers have been forced to commit suicide because of the anti-farmer policies of the Government. The UPA Government has consistently raised the minimum support price (MSP) for paddy, but the benefits have not reached the farmers in Odisha because of the apathy of the State Government here," she said.
Gandhi also targeted the BJD Government for not implementing the Food Security Act, enacted by the UPA Government, in the State and its failure to ensure that the benefits of the Forest Rights Act reach the forest dwellers.
She made a reference to the abundant natural resources of Odisha to make the point that despite it the people of the State continue to remain poverty-stricken.
Gandhi also took the Patnaik Government to task for the series of scams in the State and made particular mention of the chit fund and MGNREGA scams in which 'thousands of crores' of public money has been swindled by these companies.
"While the Centre has allocated thousands of crores to the State, the BJD has looted the money. There was a scam of Rs 500 crore in six districts of the State in the implementation of MGNREGA," she said.
The Congress president pointed to the growing atrocities against women in the State and blamed the BJD Government for depriving women of their rights.
On the BJP, Gandhi said the party's only aim is to grab power and spread communalism across the country. "Our principal opponent BJP's only agenda is to oppose the Congress. It has no vision for the country and the people. Its only aim is to grab 'Kurshi'. While the Congress party takes everyone along for the all-round prosperity of the country, the BJP spreads communalism and divides the society," she said.
Sonia rounded off with a long list of achievements that she said the UPA has to its credit during its 10-year-old reign. She promised to introduce a Right to Health law if the Congress is voted back to power.
She referred to the achievements during the tenure of Congress MP Srikant Jena, especially an AIIMS centre having been approved by the Centre for Baleswar.
In the beginning of her speech, Gandhi recalled the historical background of Baleswar and involvement of its people in protection of Odia language.