Union Minister Dharmendra Padhan on Saturday termed the State Government’s ‘Peetha’ scheme as “a stale cake full of PC stuffs” and said the programme is meant to hoodwink people ahead of general elections.
“Corruption has crossed all limits in the State. Medicals lack doctors and health sector has been paralisyed. Schoolteachers are not getting salaries but Biju Bahini Volunteers are being funded. People have been exploited during the last 19 years. The Peetha programme is nothing but an old cake with full of PC stuffs,” said Pradhan at Jan Pparamarsha Padyatra in Barhgarh and Ganjam districts.
At a rally held at Digapahandi, Pradhan said local MLA and Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Surjya Narayan Patro has taken five subsidized LPG cylinders and, thereby, benefitted with Rs 1,850. While only 6,406 households out of 36,521 families in Digapahandi were connected with LPG by 2014, the number increased to 27,000 during the last four years.
At a rally held in Bargarh district, he slammed the Chief Minister for not fulfilling his promise to provide bonus of Rs 100 per quintal of paddy over MSP to farmers.
Pradhan highlighted about various welfare programmes of the Modi Government and increased amount of funds provided to Odisha during the last four years at public meetings held in the two districts.
Reacting to Pradhan’s allegation, BJD spokesperson Debashis Samantray said, “Pradhan’s allegation is baseless as people of Odisha are getting benefits out of various State Government schemes, be it Biju Swasthya Yojana or Biju Pucca Ghar yojana or any other project.”