Amid the 2024 Sabah elections in Odisha, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Earlier this week, PM Modi had asked Patnaik to name districts in Odisha.
In response, the BJD leader addressed a rally on May 12 and said that the chief minister remembers the state only during elections, has failed to fulfill his previous election promises and is ignoring the Odia language. denounced.
According to a report in ANI, Chief Minister Patnaik said in a video message that Prime Minister Modi only remembers the state during elections and it is “of no use”.
Patnaik’s exchange of words
In a verbal exchange after the prime minister’s salvo, Patnaik asked Modi about his “unfulfilled promises” in the 2014 and 2019 general elections. He pointed to issues such as non-increase in coal royalty, unfulfilled promise to double the minimum support price (MSP) to farmers and construction of the coastal highway.
“Remember the promise he made in the 2014 and 2019 elections? The natural wealth of Odisha is coal and you are taking coal from Odisha, but for the last 10 years you have not increased royalties. The only time the Prime Minister remembers Odisha is in 2014 and 2019 elections, which won’t be of any use during election times. Remember the promise we made in 2019? ” He said.
“You should have built the coastal highway keeping in mind the people of Odisha, but you have also forgotten that. Remember your promise to create 200 million jobs, bring down the prices of LPG, petrol, oil etc. To provide mobile connectivity to all and reduce GST, the people of Odisha. I have not forgotten anything,” Patnaik added.
About culture and language
The Odisha CM accused the Center of ignoring Odisha language and culture despite declaring it a classical language. Referring to the allocation of funds to Sanskrit, Patnaik said Odias were being ignored. He also expressed concern that Odia celebrities, including the late Biju Patnaik, were not recognized with national honours, such as the Bharat Ratna.
“You assigned INRA billion dollars was spent on developing Sanskrit, but nothing on Odia. You forgot about Odissi music too. I sent a proposal to Odissi for classical music evaluation, but you rejected it twice. Odisha has many brave sons and the Chief Minister nominated several of them during his election campaign. Are any of them worthy of Bharat Ratna? You have gifted Bharat Ratna to so many people but once again you have forgotten the great son of Odisha, Biju Patnaik,” he added.
About election victory
Patnaik also said that the Bharatiya Janata Party will not win Odisha in the next 10 years. He asserted that his BJD would secure a sixth consecutive term in power after the assembly elections.
This was in response to PM Modi’s statement that the ‘Bharatiya Janata Party Prime Minister’ will be sworn in on June 10 in Bhubaneswar.
Patnaik dismissed the idea and said, “Nothing will happen on June 10. The Bharatiya Janata Party will not be able to win the hearts of the people in the next 10 years. Please forget about June 10. “The Bharatiya Janata Party will form the government in Odisha for the sixth consecutive year.” time. “
2024 Lok Sabha Elections
PM Modi challenged Patnaik during a rally in Kandhamal, where he highlighted Odisha’s tourism potential. He asked the CM to name the districts of the state and its capital without mentioning them, questioning the government’s faith in the capabilities of the people.
“I would like to challenge ‘Naveen Babu’ who has been the CM for too long. Please tell ‘Naveen Babu’ the names of the districts and their respective capitals of Odisha without looking at the paper. CM If you can’t name the district, does he know your pain?” the prime minister said.
Indirectly referring to Bharatiya Janata Party leader VK Pandian’s claim that he is the natural successor of all the great values of Patnaik, PM Modi said, “I came here to invite you to the swearing-in ceremony of the party’s prime minister,” he said. 10. A son or daughter of the soil who understands the culture, language and traditions of the state will be appointed as CM. ”
The exchange between the two leaders takes place against the backdrop of the Sabah Assembly and Assembly elections being held simultaneously in Odisha. The four-phase voting is scheduled for May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1, with Patnaik seeking a sixth consecutive term in office.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI)
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