Bhubaneswar: 5T Chairman and Biju Janata Das (BJD) leader VK Pandian on Monday made a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party for its claim of forming a double-engine government in Odisha.
Addressing a huge gathering, bureaucrat-turned-politician Pandian lashing out at the saffron party said, “Almost all the states being run by the double-engine governments have faced debacle and their economy has run backwards to almost 20 years.”
Pandian who is spearheading the campaign for the BJD across the state, said “Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka are the examples of failed double-engine governments. People of these states trusted double-engine governments. But these double-engine governments have failed miserably. Odisha will be no exception if a double-engine government is formed in Odisha. Odisha will face the same fate. The double-engine government will push the economy of Odisha twenty years back.”
Pandian said, “Country’s number 1 Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is the only person who can make Odisha a number one state.”
“If you go through the election manifesto of BJP, you will be surprised to find that there is no scope and opportunity for youth. It has no planning for students. Students belonging to the double-engine states are entitled to get 15-20 per cent scholarship whereas Naveen government provides 95 per cent scholarship to students. Voters should keep these things in mind”, maintained Pandian who has become aggressive during his recent attack.
“The Naveen government is not going to end Biju Swastya Kalyan Yojana in the state. It is like an ATM card for poor people. Many people have been benefitted from this scheme. Needy people need not have to make rounds of insurance companies thanks to BSKY yojana. BJP is claiming to provide Rs 6,000 to pregnant women. In contrast, the Naveen government has decided to provide Rs 10,000 to expecting mothers”, said Pandian adding that “All the schemes by the Naveen government are perennial and pro-people, not merely for the sake of elections.”
