Bhubaneshwar: Union Minister Amit Shah on Friday said that this time there will be a double change in Odisha, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will win over 15 Lok Sabha and 75 Assembly seats in the state.
Addressing an election rally in Rourkela city, Shah said the 2024 election is an election to make Narendra Modi the Prime Minister for the third time and start a new chapter in Odisha by ousting chief minister Naveen Patnaik and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD).
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“Double change is going to take place in Odisha. With more than 15 MPs and 75 MLAs, Odisha is about to turn saffron”, Shah said.
He added, “If the state needs to develop, the people here should vote for the double-engine government under PM Narendra Modi’s leadership.”
Shah said that Odisha has lost 24 years under Patnaik. “The Western part of Odisha has been meted out with step-motherly treatment by the Odisha government. Today, 27 lakh (2.7 million) families do not have pucca houses, 26 lakh (2.6 million) houses do not have piped drinking water facilities, 6,412 villages lack proper roads and farmers’ incomes are much lower”, Shah said, adding that If voted to power, the BJP, to help farmers of the state, will procure paddy at Rs. 3,100.
Shah said the 2024 election is all about restoring the Odia language, literature, culture and pride.
“It was PM Modi who appointed Droupadi Murmu as the President of India. Similarly, PM Modi deliberately picked the Konark Sun temple as the backdrop to welcome the top delegates at the G20 Summit. The BJD government is not giving importance to Odisha’s language, culture and pride. Should the governance be in the hands of an Odia or a Tamil? In the name of the Parikrama project, the government here tried to make Puri a tourist hub while no steps have been taken to open all gates of Srimandir,” alleged Shah.
Slamming chief minister Patnaik-led government over the Ratna Bhandar of Jagannath temple in Puri, Shah said that for a long time, the people of Odisha and millions of Jagannath devotees have been asking about the Puri Ratna Bhandar keys. “CM Naveen Patnaik should answer where are the original keys of Ratna Bhandar, who made duplicate keys and whether they were used to open the treasure trove.”
Shah added that all four gates of the 12th-century Jagannath temple in Puri will be opened for the devotees for smooth darshan of the deities after the BJP forms its government in the state on June 10.
Further targeting Patnaik, Shah alleged that under Naveen Babu, officers are running the government, and the tribals are losing their land.
On Friday, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma questioned V K Pandian, BJD member and Patnaik’s close aide, over the missing keys of Shree Jagannath Temple’s Ratna Bhandar.
Reacting to speeches made by the BJP leaders at public rallies, Patnaik called it ‘unfortunate’. He termed as “derogatory and abusive”, the campaign speeches by the opposition leaders from other states and Union ministers and described them as ‘political tourists’ who visit Odisha during elections only.
Speaking to PTI, Patnaik said, “This time there are some chief ministers and Union ministers who come as political tourists only at the time of elections and then they disappear. Their speeches have no effect on the people of Odisha, and it is most unfortunate that many of them use derogatory and abusive language. I never believe in doing that and the people don’t, here in our state, appreciate such language.”
(with PTI inputs)
