India News | BJP, BJD Lock Horns over Odisha CM's 'shocked' Jibe Against Opposition
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The BJD and the BJP on Saturday hit out at each other over Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's 'shocked' jibe against the opposition in the state, as the two parties listed good and bad incidents that had happened during his tenure in recent years.
Bhubaneswar, Dec 16 (PTI) The BJD and the BJP on Saturday hit out at each other over Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's 'shocked' jibe against the opposition in the state, as the two parties listed good and bad incidents that had happened during his tenure in recent years.
Patnaik, also the BJD president, had claimed at the party's executive meeting on Friday that the opposition parties were shocked over the rapid transformation taking place in the state and they did not have any issue using which they can indulge in "misinformation campaign".
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Mocking the Patnaik government, senior BJP leader and Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, "Can anyone say in which state a cabinet minister is killed in broad daylight by a policeman? Can anyone say in which state a woman teacher is raped and murdered in which the ruling party leaders and ministers are allegedly involved?"
Health minister Naba Kishore Das was shot dead by an assistant sub-inspector of police in Jharsuguda district on January 29 this year. In 2021, the half-burnt decomposed body of a 24-year-old lady teacher was found buried below the playground of the school in Kalahandi district where she worked. A minister was accused of shielding the culprit.
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Pradhan also alleged that of the 4.5 crore population of the state, nearly 1 crore people migrate in search of jobs in different states.
The union education minister asked: "Are these (signs of) transformation? If that is the case, then Lord Jagannath is the only solace for the people of Odisha."
The ruling BJD was quick to hit back, claiming that BJP leaders sought to “defame” Odisha for their narrow political interests.
"Odisha hosted the World Cup Hockey twice. The Reserve Bank of India appreciated Odisha for being the No.1 State in India for having the best financial management and loan management," BJD spokesperson Sasmit Patra said in a statement. Odisha was acclaimed internationally as the best state in disaster management and other transformational initiatives, he said. "And Odisha BJP leaders and Pradhan never said a good word," Patra pointed out. Pradhan gets upset when people of the state feel proud about Odisha doing well, Patra claimed. "They twist facts in order to defame Odisha at every possible opportunity… People have given a befitting reply to them in the past for doing such politics and will also give them a similar reply again in the coming days as well," he said.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)