Bhubaneswar: Bureaucrat turned politician and senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader without taking the name hit out at Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for failing to open a single Kendriya Vidyalaya in Nabarangpur district despite remaining the Education Minister for the last five years.
Addressing public meetings at Umerkote and Jharigaon under the Nabarangpur Parliamentary constituency as part of his party’s election campaigning Pandian said that had the Union Minister so desired he would have opened 3-4 Kendriya Vidyalays in Nabarangpur district.
On the other hand, the Odisha government has transformed more than 8,000 high schools under 5T, he added.
The senior BJD leader stated that the Union Minister is peeved on why the Chief Minister is extending so much of welfare facilities to the people.
Therefore, they are conspiring to stop Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana, Mission Shakti and various other schemes, he explained.
He said that for development peace is essential and progress is achieved when there is peace.
He said, “Our Chief Minister has established peace, therefore development is taking place”.
He cited the example of the neighbouring state of Chhattisgarh where governments are changing frequently but there is no peace.
Pandian stated that the Chief Minister loves and respects tribals. He said no state has given a thought to the development of tribal language, culture and places of worship. The Chief Minister has constituted a special development council to protect the art and culture of tribals. It is developing tribal language, art, culture, places of worship, etc.
He informed that the Chief Minister has directed for scrapping of 50,000 petty cases for the benefit of tribals.
The senior BJD leader appealed to the people to vote for BJD’s Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha candidates in large numbers and bless the Chief Minister. He urged them to make BJD candidates win by a margin of 90% votes.
Thousands attended the meetings and welcomed Pandian.
