India News | Patnaik Promises District Status to Padampur, Says BJP Shedding “crocodile Tears”

Bargarh (Odisha), Dec 2 (PTI) Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Friday visited poll-bound Padampur in a whistle-stop election campaign, accused BJP of shedding "crocodile tears" for the poor by telling lies and promised to create a new district in the area by 2023.

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Patnaik, who hit the election trail for the first time in any by-poll since 2019, held public meetings at Jharbandha and Paikmal blocks and at Padampur town just a day before the high-decibel campaign comes to an end before the December 5 election.

In the meetings, he asked the saffron brigade to stop misleading the people and promised the speedy development of Padampur.

The chief minister's declaration of a separate Pdampur village drew flak from the Congress as the model code of conduct is in force.

Apparently encouraged by the large gathering in all his three election meetings, Patnaik, who is also the president of the ruling BJD, said at Padampur, “I don't believe in words. I believe in action. You want Padampur to become a district and your dream will be fulfilled in 2023.”

In all the meetings he began his speeches by uttering 'Jai Nrusinghanath", who is the presiding deity of the region, and offering tributes to eminent Odia poet Gangadhar Meher, whose community forms a sizeable portion of the electorate in Padampur. Though Patnaik made short speeches, his video messages were played in all the three election meetings.

Patnaik, who did not hit the campaign trail in the previous four by-polls including at Dhamnagar where BJD lost the election, used his meetings on Friday to directly target the saffron party and accused its leaders of indulging in politics over issues of the poor like the PMAY.

“Though the state government secured a prize from the central government for completing five lakh houses under Prime Minister Awas Yojana (Gramin) per year, the BJP MPs with political motives exerted pressure and stopped the scheme. This deprived ten lakh people of houses in two years,” he said.

Patnaik, however, did not utter a word against Congress in the meetings and asserted that he believes in work instead of words.

In between the poll rallies, Patnaik met representatives of the Meher and Kulta communities who thanked him for providing them land and funds for a building in the name of Gangadhar Meher and a dharamshala respectively. He also met members of the Yadav and Teli communities and received about 50 petitions from the people about the various difficulties faced by them.

The BJD, he said, is resolved to fight for the rights of kendu leaf pluckers, farmers, tribals, women and the downtrodden in Padampur, which has a large tribal population.

Kendu leaf plucking is a major economic activity for the landless and the poorest of the poor in Padampur which falls in the western district of Bargarh.

Accusing the BJP-led government at the Centre of imposing the high rate of GST on trade in kendu leaf, Patnaik said, “Do you know the GST on gold? It is only three per cent, while the Centre unfortunately charges 18 per cent GST on kendu leaf trade. The BJP has been shedding crocodile tears for the poor, the kendu leaf pluckers, farmers and others”.

The chief minister blamed BJP for the delay in payment of crop insurance under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and said many farmers in Padampur have not received their insurance claims so far. “When the aggrieved farmers stopped the BJP candidate Pradip Purohit from filing the nomination paper for the by-poll, the NDA government released the funds within 48 hours,” he said.

Odisha, he said, has been funding Rs 630 crore towards crop insurance through PMFBY, a central scheme.

The chief minister said that the government has taken a slew of measures for the welfare of the farming community like the input subsidy, KALIA (Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation) Yojana and Rs 20,000 every year for irrigation and promised that it will continue to work for their welfare.

Condemning the BJP leaders for their alleged "defamatory words" against BJD's woman candidate in Padampur, Barsha Singh Bariha, he said, “It is unfortunate to criticise a woman. I have fielded an educated woman. Bless her by casting votes in the conch symbol (of BJD)”.

Patnaik said the BJD government aims at ensuring the empowerment of women and claimed that they are marching on the path of progress in the state due to a number of steps taken by it. The self help group members were now set to become entrepreneurs with government announcing nil interest on loans of up to Rs five lakh.

He promised speedy development of Padampur and cited the development works in neighbouring Bijepur assembly segment. “My reply to the BJP, which asks me what has been done for Padampur, is I will bring a list of development works being done here before the 2024 general election".

He also countered BJP's allegation that the proposed Bargarh-Nuapada road via Padampur could not be implemented due to the state government's inaction. “The BJP leaders including two union ministers are telling lies and misleading people of Padampur".

Though he did not name any central minister, Patnaik was apparently referring to Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

"The Railways is yet to conduct a survey and prepare a detailed project report. They have also not applied to the state government for land," he added.

Meanwhile, the Leader of Opposition in the state Jay Narayan Mishra of BJP rejected Patnaik's charges and accused him of making false promises. He hit back and accused the chief minister of misleading the people ahead of the by-poll.

Congress Legislature Party leader Narasingha Mishra said both BJD and BJP are responsible for the plight of farmers in Padampur and it was wrong to announce district formation when the model code of conduct is in force for the by-poll.

BJP MPs Aparajita Sarangi and Jual Oram said in their election meetings that the people of the state need an"active" chief minister and not one who runs the government on the virtual mode".

“Odisha now has a video conference chief minister. Twenty years is a long time for a government to bring development. What did Padampur get during these two decades?” she asked.

Soliciting votes for the BJP candidate Sarangi said, “The BJD candidate is the daughter-in-law of Puri district. It is better for a daughter-in-law to serve the people of her ‘sasural' (marital home). I appeal to the people to elect Padampur's son (Pradip Purohit) instead of a married off daughter”.

Incidentally, Sarangi herself is a daughter-in-law of Odisha and was born in undivided Bihar.

The by-poll is being held in Padampur following the death of BJD MLA Bijay Ranjan Singh Bariha in October. His daughter Barsha Singh Bariha is the BJD candidate in the by-poll.

(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)