: A day after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the general budget, war of words broke out between the ruling Biju Janata Dal and BJP over Odisha benefitting from the Union Budget and 14th Finance Commission recommendations here on Sunday.
While BJD said Odisha had been handed over a raw deal in both the budget and 14th Finance Commission recommendations, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan dismissed charges saying the Naveen Patnaik government resorted to a politically-motivated campaign.
Three frontal wings – youth, women and students – of BJD on Sunday declared to stage massive demonstration against the alleged step motherly treatment meted out to the Odisha here on Monday.
Sanjay Das Burma, president of Biju Yuva Dal charged, “Narendra Modi government granted Rs. 20,000 crore assistance to Bihar and West Bengal to reap political benefits ahead of elections while Odisha being one of the most backward regions, was ignored.”
Refuting charges, Mr. Pradhan said, “The State government will receive yearly Rs. 24,416 crore as per 14th Finance Commission recommendations as against yearly Rs. 16,630 crore in the 13th Finance Commission.” He added, “Odisha along with Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh will get huge finance benefits from the auctioning of mineral reserves.”
