BJP State president Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo entered Ganjam district en route Rambha, Humma, Ganjam town, Chhatrapur, Narendrapur and Sindurpur on Friday accompanied by former Assembly Deputy Speaker Rama Chandra Panda, former Ministers Samir Dey, Manmohan Samal and Surama Padhi, former State party chief Suresh Pujari and Yuva Morcha leader Bhrugu Buxipatra.
Singh Deo was given a rousing welcome during the road show right from Rambha up to Brahmapur. Hundreds of motorcycle-borne youths escorted him chanting slogans along the road stretching around 30 km while men and women thronged both sides of the road and greeted him with flowers and shaking hands.
Singh Deo addressed a public meeting at Chhatrapur where other party leaders also spoke.
On reaching Brahmapur, a large number of motorcycle riders led by party district president Bijay Kumar Swain, Yuva Morcha president Bibhuti Jena, Town president Rama Patra and senior leader Kahnu Pati escorted Singh Deo to the public meeting venue at Ramalingam Tank road.
Addressing the gathering, Singh Deo described the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD Government as most corrupt being involved in several scams. How can a Chief Minister who could not learn Odia during so may years of his rule understand the feelings, aspirations and needs of the Odia people, he questioned.
let the BJP be given only one chance to rule the State so as to fulfil the aspirations of the people so that they can mark the difference, he pleaded.
He referred to the plight of the citizens of Brahmapur
suffering from scarcity of water as the Government has failed to implement the long pending Chheligada-Janibilla piped water scheme.
He appreciated the Rushikulya-Mahanadi river link movement undertaken by former Deputy Speaker Panda to mitigate the sufferings of the residents of Brahmapur and its adjoining areas.
He said Panda was the only political leader who first submitted his proposal to the then Prime Minister Vajpayee on the river linkage project to meet the water scarcity in Brahmapur.
He said good governance of Chief Minister Narendra Modi has made Gujarat a power-surplus State whereas Odisha having all natural resources is unable to provide electricity for 24 hours a day. He criticised Naveen Patnaik for using the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to distribute bicycles. He urged people to vote for BJP candidates for Parliament, Assembly and shortly-coming municipality elections.
Rama Chandra Panda justified the BJP as a party with a difference and said there is no room for dynasty and
sycophancy in this party. He said the Naveen Patnaik Government has ruined the heritage institutions of Brahmapur like the Khallikote College, the City High School and the MKCG Medical College as hundreds of teaching posts are lying vacant in these institutions for decades.
Suresh Pujari said Naveen Patnaik who does not know Odia has no moral right to continue in power. Though Ganjam was the centre of the struggle for a unified Odisha, how many statues of Parala Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati Deb and Kabisamrat Upendra Bhanja are established by Patnaik in his home district, he questioned. Ousting a non-Odia-speaking leader from power would be a great tribute to the founding fathers of Odisha, he added.
He further criticised the Government for shifting overnight the Women Weightlifting Training Hostel from Brahmapur.
After the Shah Commission report on the mining scam and the CAG report on grabbing of prime land in favour of the son of Revenue Minister, both the Chief Minister and the Revenue Minister would land in the Jharpada jail in Bhubaneswar soon, he added.
Among others, Samir Dey, Surama Padhi, Samir Mohanty, Bijay Swain, Bhrugu Buxi Patra, BJP State Youth Morcha leader Bibhuti Jena and Town president Rama Patra also spoke.