Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik along with a team of Ministers and BJD MLAs on Monday made his maiden visit to Surat in Gujarat to inaugurate an ‘Odia Mahotsav’.
The grand event, organised by the Shree Prabhu Jagannath Charitable Trust of Surat, was thronged by thousands of Odia people. A number of Ollywood actors also performed to entertain the crowd
General secretary of the trust Surat Bansidhar Lenka said, “For the last few years, we were trying to convince CM Naveen Patnaik to visit Surat and look into the issues of seven lakh Odias staying here. Our demands are that an Odisha Bhavan be built in Surat where Odias can assemble, direct flight from Bhubaneswar, two trains daily from Surat to Ganjam. The Chief Minister assured that he would take all steps to fulfil the demands.”
On the other hand, Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani, who was in Bhubaneswar on the day, took a potshot at Patnaik, saying the Odisha CM’s visit to meet Odias in Gujarat after 19 years is politically motivated.
“Because general elections are round the corner, Naveen Patnaik finally found time for the non-resident Odias,” said Rupani.
Rupani further said, “The Odisha people work very hard and save their money. They invest the money in chit fund back home. I have received complaints that they have been duped of their hard-earned money. The Odisha Government should take action on this to help people get their money back.”
“When Odias came to Gujarat for a living, they were staying in thatched houses. But under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) and State housing schemes, we provided them with pucca houses and flats,” he added.
Further, many people from Ganjam district met Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani during his visit to Bhubaneswar and thanked him for providing support to Odia people residing in Surat under different Government schemes.
Meanwhile, responding to Rupani’s statements, BJD spokesperson Pratap Deb questioned, “Why is Gujarat CM here in Odisha when CM Naveen Patnaik is scheduled to visit Surat today? It seems the BJP is terrified of CM Naveen’s visit.”
Deb further said the non-resident Odias are also entitled to getting benefits from the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana wherever they are in the country.