Amid the talk of a front, not aligning with the BJP and the Congress, taking the political shape before 2014 general elections, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday lashed out at Centre’s discriminatory approach towards Odisha. Patnaik accused the UPA Government for adopting a policy of “political discrimination” in grant of central assistance.
He also pitched for ‘special category status’ to the State. The Odisha CM was into his elements and came down heavily and lambasted the highly discriminatory policy being pursued by the Manmohan Singh Government, calling it a dangerous trend not conducive to a healthy federal structure.
“The UPA Government is following different policies for different States,” Patnaik thundered while addressing “Swabhiman” rally of over 30,000 people at historic Ramlila Maidan.
The Wednesday rally was aimed at lodging protest against Centre’s apathy towards Odisha’s demand for a special category status. Patnaik minced no words and alleged that the “self-interest” of the Congress has become the “sole criteria” for central assistance.
He accused the UPA of ignoring the “just demands” of States like Odisha, which fulfils all criteria required for grant of special status. “The Central Government has been giving funds to different states on political considerations. Should the money paid by crores of taxpayers of the country be used for a narrow interest of a political partyIJ” he alleged.
“The demand for special status for Odisha shall continue till we achieve our just demand” because it concerns the “Oriya dignity” and aspirations of the four crore people of the State, the CM added.
Patnaik, who sought to strike a chord with the crowd by speaking in his mother tongue, said that India as a nation cannot move forward by denying even one State of its rightful claim but “successive governments at the Centre have ignored their demand for justice”. “Such a massive injustice and neglect can never be tolerated,” Patnaik said while accusing the Centre of being discriminatory towards his State even at the time of natural calamities like floods and cyclone. “Centre was also ignoring the fact that the State is home to one crore tribals with many living in hilly and difficult terrains like the ‘KBK’ region and has a 480-km-long coastline and defence establishments,” the CM added.
“I strongly believe if Odisha is given special category status, we can root out poverty from Odisha in less than a decade,” he said. The Chief Minister was also critical of the Planning Commission’s rejection of the State’s demand for special category status and said the rally was being organised to strengthen its demand. The Commission had cited the State’s stable finances and sound indicators such as fiscal deficit and outstanding liabilities while rejecting the special category status demand.