Even as BJD supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday took on the Narendra Modi Government at the Centre accusing it of showing step-motherly attitude towards Odisha, Ministers Debi Prasad Mishra and Jogendra Behera among many frontline leaders, who have miserably failed to prove their mettle in the panchayat elections, tried to impress their boss by targeting Modi in a strong voice from the same dais.
Ministers Mishra, Sanjay Dasburma and Jogendra Behera took the Biju Patnaik birth centenary celebrations programme held at the BJD party office under the chairmanship of Patnaik as an opportunity to target the PM in order to be in good book of the CM.
Terming Biju as a towering personality, the Chief Minister accused the Central Government of closing many public welfare programmes and schemes on the occasion. However, Patnaik reiterated that the State Government is financing the schemes from its own sources.
“The Central Government has closed many programmes ignoring the interest of the tribals and backward class people of the State. But in view of the public interest, we are continuing the programmes from own funds. The health index of Odisha is ahead of the Central trend,” said Patnaik.
Counting the achievements of his party, Patnaik said, “An impressive and visible improvement has been achieved in various sectors in the State. A vast change has been witnessed if we compare Odisha in the year 2000 and now. Development in infrastructure, rise in employment, besides rise in production and investments in various sectors have taken place.”
Women have also been empowered and youths have gained self confidence in the State, claimed the Chief Minister.
School and Mass Education Minister Mishra in an apparent reference to PM Modi said some people are unable to see Odisha overtake the national trend in various sectors.
“Some people are unable to see us overtake the national increment rate. A Prime Minister of India is ridiculing the poverty of Odisha and his followers are giving false statements regularly, similar to the propaganda Minister of Adolf Hitler,” said Mishra.
Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Dasburma too asked Modi and his team to see for themselves the tremendous progress made by the State, including in the field of eradication of poverty, under the leadership of Chief Minister Patnaik.
MSME Minister Behera also described the unexpected performance of the BJP in the recently concluded three-tier panchayat elections as a dusty wind.
“The victory of the BJP is just like a dusty wind. We will show the strength in 2019 polls,” asserted Behera.