The Opposition -- Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party -- on Saturday slammed the Naveen Patnaik government saying it failed to fulfil aspirations of the people on all fronts, besides letting them down in checking widespread corruption.
The Opposition mounted its attack on occasion of completion of two years of the Naveen Patnaik government’s fourth tenure.
Addressing a press conference, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Prasad Harichandan said: “The BJD government has been in power for the past 16 years. Year after year, it has been doling out false promises. Rate of prevalence of poverty in rural Odisha is really disturbing. Average monthly income of 88 per cent of rural households in the State is less than Rs.5,000.”
The government had assured to provide minimum 200 days of work to daily wage earners under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act while in reality, the government was unable to make 50 days of work available to needy people, Mr. Harichandan alleged.
“The government had so far paid Rs.1.5 crore to lawyers in the past 10 years to protect the Naveen Patnaik government which is neck deep in corruption in mining sector. The government has been shielding chit fund scamsters while lakhs of victims have been left in the lurch,” Mr. Harichandan said.
Similarly, State BJP president Basant Panda charged the BJD government had failed the farmer community of the State.
“With the government shying away from its responsibility, many farmers, who lost their produce due to drought, had not option, but to end their lives. While tragedy was unfolding before it, the government remained silent spectator,” said Mr. Panda.
“In the past 16 years, the government was consistently trying to modify central schemes and brand them as its own schemes. The Odisha government was thoroughly exposed when it started Re.1 per kg rice scheme by manipulating the central rice scheme,” said the State BJP chief addressing a press conference.
