Bhubaneswar, Dec 12 (PTI) BJPs newly appointed Odisha in-charge, D Purandeswari Saturday hit out at the states BJD government saying that the people had cast their votes for Naveen Patnaik and not for officers who presently "rule the state".

Purandeswari,who is on her maiden visit to the state after being appointed to the post, said The people of Odisha gave their mandate to BJD for their trust in Naveen Patnaik and not in any officer. Therefore, Naveen Babu should rule the state and not officers.

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Her comment came close on the heels of a similar one by arrested Gopalpur MLA Pradeep Panigrahi after he was expelled from the primary membership of BJD on the charge of anti-people activities.

Holding Patnaik responsible for ku-sasan (bad governance) and not su-sasan (good governance), Purandeswari claimed that there were a number of scams in Odisha like the coal, forest, chit fund and land scandals.

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She alleged that there was no rule of law in the state and cited the instance of the kidnapping and murder of a five-year-old girl in Nayagarh district.

During election Naveen Babu had repeatedly announced that 4.5 crore people of Odisha are his family members. I humbly ask Naveen Babu whether the five-year-old girl from Nayagarh was part of his family or not, the BJP leader said.

Alleging that the main accused in the kidnapping and murder case is being shielded by cabinet minister Arun Kumar Sahoo, Purandeswari demanded a CBI probe into the incident.

She also pointed out that not a single accused has so far been arrested in the case though over four months has passed since it took place.

Purandeswari slammed the BJD government over many issues including the Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme of the state government.

The farmers in Odisha are getting Rs 6,000 a year from PM-Kisan Yojana but the states share of Rs 4,000 under KALIA scheme is not yet deposited in bank accounts of farmers," she said.

Initially the state government had informed that there are 35 lakh farmers eligible for PM Kisan Yojana, but later it reduced it to 21 lakh, she said adding the state has no correct enumeration of farmers in Odisha.

Alleging that the BJD government did not fulfil promises made to people during elections, the BJP leader said that in the 2014 elections it had given word to provide pucca houses to all. The party had won the next poll in 2019 by making the same promise and is yet to convert the kutcha houses to pucca houses in rural areas.

Purandeswari also criticised the BJD government for not implementing Centres Ayushman Bharat Yojana in Odisha. Dont you (Patnaik) want the welfare of the poor people of Odisha? she asked.

The villages in Odisha do not get safe drinking water though Patnaik has ruled the state for the last 20 years. The people in about 1250 villages find it difficult to get drinking water and 1500 more villages have no piped water facility so far, she said.

Rejecting her allegations, BJD national spokesperson Sasmit Patra in a statement said Basically she (Purandeswari) has come to motivate the BJP cadre and leaders after the party's defeat in both by-elections in Balasore and Tirtol. The Balasore loss has demoralised the party completely so she had a tough job on her hands.

On Purandewari's criticism of the rural housing scheme, Patra said it appears that she is unaware that Odisha has been awarded by the NDA government at the Centre for constructing the largest number of houses.

She has tried her level best to boost the partys confidence by hoodwinking people and telling lies which wont cut ice with the people of Odisha, he added.

(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)