Bhubaneswar: Ahead of Assembly and Lok Sabha polls, Congress released a 10 point charge sheet against BJD and BJP.
Addressing a press conference here, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) President Sarat Pattanayak said the BJD-BJP coalition government was running Odisha from 2000 to 2009. Now, the BJD is ruling the state while the BJP-led NDA government is ruling the country.
Informing about the charge sheet in details, OPCC Campaign Committee Chairman Bijay Patnaik said People of Odisha are being discriminated against in Odisha.
The State Government has systematically manipulated the tender conditions to keep contractors of Odisha out of the race. At least one lakh crore worth of contracts have gone to outside bidders, he alleged.
The BJD party has not spared even the Mahaprabhu in publicising themselves. Thermocol images of Lord Jagannath have been put on trucks and autorickshaws called “Arpan Rath”. The Lord has been made to beg rice from people which is never in our tradition, he said.
“No Awaas Yojana house, no card, no pension is sanctioned without bribe. Block offices have become a den of corruption. All works are being executed by block staff in a non-transparent manner. MGNREGS is being executed by machines and wage payment is being misappropriated by the contractors with the connivance of the Block staff,” the Congress leader said.
Where is the Chit fund investigation by the CBI and Crime Branch of Odisha Police? What happened to the deposits of 60 lakh poor persons?, he asked.
Stating that the Government has spent 35,000 crore for providing drinking water to every house in rural areas, Patnaik said the contracts have been awarded to outside contractors and no house connection has been given so far in rural areas.
He said there is no Government job which is not for sale. Question papers are being leaked. Applicants who have not even sat at the examination have been declared as passed, he stated.
Quoting NCRB report, he said that Odisha tops the list in the country in cases of assault on women, and kidnapping of women, especially of children.
Women SHGs are being treated only as captive audiences for BJD leaders. They are being used as a mask behind which BJD workers are thriving in their business. Scooty is being thrust on CRPs for doing propaganda for BJD, he alleged.
Far from improving the real incomes of women, the Mission Shakti has only burdened them with loans. Women are going through extreme suffering to repay these loans, the Campaigning Committee chief said.
While Congress had constructed all the major irrigation projects such as Hirakud, Delta command area, Indravati, Upper Kolab, Rengali and so on, the BJD Government has failed to take up any major project in the last 24 years, he further said.
Price rise is hurting every family. In 2014, Diesel was being sold at Rs 55 per litre. Today it is Rs.100. In 2014, Gas cylinders cost Rs.410. Today it is Rs.1100. Dal was being sold at Rs.80 per kg. Today it is Rs. 170. Price of oil, spices, and vegetables have all gone beyond the reach of a housewife, he added.