While two additional national ministers arrived in Odisha on Saturday, five did so on Friday.
The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) declared on Saturday that the populace will not accept the “inspector raj way” of the federal government as seven union ministers visited various districts of Odisha and reviewed the numerous federal programmes being implemented in the state.
While two additional national ministers arrived in Odisha on Saturday, five did so on Friday.
Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Sashibhusan Behera, who retaliated against the remark made by Union Minister of State for Home Nityananda Rai during his visit to Cuttack on Saturday, took up the cause for the BJD.
Nityananda Rai stated, “It looks that the benefits of several central initiatives are not reaching the recipients as expected,” during a press conference in Cuttack. The state government’s poor management of federal programmes is evident.
Sashibhusan Behera responded to the remark by saying, “It is improper for union ministers to act in an inspector raj manner. The people of Odisha won’t accept it since they are aware of how the state administration has been carrying out various social programmes. Ministers from the union shouldn’t act like inspectors.
Union ministers visiting the state to assess central programmes is OK, the top BJD leader had stated on Friday, but they should focus on their official duties and refrain from engaging in politics.
There have been rumours that the saffron party is focusing on the coastal state in advance of the simultaneous Lok Sabha and state elections in 2024 as a result of the seven central ministers’ visit, which came just days after BJP Odisha in-charge Sunil Bansal’s tour.
There are even rumours that the visit of the union ministers will be followed by CBI and ED raids in the state, similar to what happened in West Bengal and Maharashtra.
When questioned by journalists, Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs and Jal Shakti Bisheswar Tudu did neither confirm or deny anything.
What are the CBI and ED responsible for? They will raid wherever there is corruption because that is their role. Regardless of the party affiliation of the accused, the central agencies will carry out their tasks if there is corrupt behaviour. In response to inquiries about whether the two main investigative agencies will visit Odisha before the polls, he remarked that they “may be BJP, BJD, or Congress.”
Some BJD leaders were previously detained in connection with the multi-crore rupee chit fund fraud being investigated by the CBI in Odisha. In connection with a money laundering case against a mining business registered in Delhi, the ED conducted raids at many locations in the state in August.
Along with Rai and Tudu, the other union ministers who are in Odisha are Dharmendra Pradhan, the minister of state for education, Arjun Munda, the minister of tribal affairs, Ashwini Choubey, the minister of state for consumer affairs, food and public distribution, Bhupender Yadav, the minister of state for environment, forest and climate change, and Nisith Pramanik, the minister of state for youth affairs and sports.
Nityananda Rai asserted that the BJP is gaining strength in Odisha every day in addition to criticising the state’s BJD administration.
“In 2019, we won eight Lok Sabha seats in Odisha, up from just one in 2014. We might scale up to 16 in the coming days before moving from 16 to 20. We might potentially take home all 21 seats in the state, he added. Rai stated that the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme has helped as many as 39,73,000 farmers in the state with regard to the implementation of the federal programmes in Odisha.
In addition, Rai praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for erecting a statue of son of the soil Netaji Subash Chandra Bose at the India Gate in New Delhi. The people of Odisha should be aware of this historical work, he said, adding that the entire nation has been waiting to see Netaji’s statue at the capital’s prominent location.
According to BJP national vice-president Baijayant Panda, as part of the party’s strategy for the elections in 2024, union ministers will travel to the state once per month for two days.
The visit of the union ministers, he continued, “would benefit the BJP rank and file throughout the state.”
Prasanta Patnaik