Bhubaneswar: Biju Janata Dal Supremo and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday made scathing attacks on national BJP Vice President and BJP’s MP candidate for Kendrapara Baijayant Panda accusing him of betraying Kendrapara people.
Without taking his name, Patnaik lambasted Panda for neglecting Kendrapara despite being elected twice as Lok Sabha MP.
The BJD chief said, “I made the person Kendrapara MP for ten years. However, he (Panda) betrayed me and the people of Kendrapara while working for the vested interest of his company.
He made these allegations during his visit to Kendrapara as part of election campaigning.
Addressing a public gathering at Kendrapara, the Chief Minister appealed to the people to choose the right candidates this time by voting on conch symbol twice for the simultaneous Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
He addressed the gathering by asking ‘Naveen Patnaik bhala ki?’ (Is Naveen Patnaik good?). As people gathered there stood up from their seats and responded in affirmative, Patnaik went on asking how are his schemes including Mamata, KALIA, Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY), Mission Shakti, 5T Scheme and Puri Corridor Project.
The BJD president criticized the former BJD MP for spreading misinformation. Opposition leaders are shedding crocodile tears. They are not in favour of Kendrapara’s development.
Highlighting various schemes launched by the BJD government in the state, the BJD supremo said his government has been ensuring the welfare of Odisha people with a battery of schemes and people-friendly initiatives which are aimed at the upliftment of the people in the state.
Speaking on the occasion, senior BJD leader and party’s star campaigner Kartik Pandian highlighted the Chief Minister’s concern for the development of Kendrapara.
The senior BJD leader described the Chief Minister’s efforts to set up the world’s largest steel plant of Nippon Steel in Kendrapara. He narrated how the Chief Minister travelled all the way to Japan to build the world’s biggest steel plant in Kendrapara.
Criticising the former Kendrapara MP, Pandian asked, “After becoming an MP, how much profit has his private company made? While being a member of the Finance Committee of the Parliament, he waived the loans of his company. The former MP neglected the development of Kendrapara.”
When the former MP was not given the post of chairman of the Finance Committee of the Parliament, he started spreading rumours about Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s health through his private TV channel. The former MP spread rumours about the Chief Minister’s health in Delhi, said the senior BJD leader.
