Bhubaneswar: Close on the heels of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s electioneering in Bolangir on Saturday; Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) supremo Naveen Patnaik made a whirlwind tour of Kantabanji and Muribahal on Sunday to seek votes for the BJD Lok Sabha and Assembly constituency nominees as well as himself from the Kantabanji constituency.
Patnaik reached the first meeting venue in Bangomunda by helicopter this morning. Addressing the huge gathering there, the BJD supremo told the people about the various welfare schemes of the state government, such as the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojna (BSKY), Mission Shakti, Mamata, LAccMI Bus, 5T School Transformation and Nua-O Student scholarships, and asked the gathering whether they have benefitted from them. The response was overwhelmingly positive.
The Chief Minister then asked the people whether the state government and its schemes were good or not. The place reverberated with thundering ‘Yes’ and ‘Zindabad’ chants for a long time. He told the crowd, “I am your candidate are you happy?” People at the meeting venue went rapturous after hearing this.
He told the gathering, “The Biju Janata Dal government will waive electricity bills from July and you will not have to pay bills from July, are you happy? Everyone clapped and said yes with great joy.
“The Opposition leaders are lying, the BJP leaders are shedding crocodile tears,” he told the people while urging them not to fall for false promises of the Opposition.
“Bless me and vote for the Conch symbol to allow me to serve you better,” Naveen concluded.
People of all constituencies of Odisha want Naveen Babu to be their candidate – Karthik Pandian
Taking on from there, senior BJD leader and 5T and Nabin Odisha Chairman VK Pandian said, “People across Odisha want Naveen Babu to be their candidate, but the Chief Minister has decided to contest from Kantabanji. He wants to work for your development and transform Kantabanji.”
Pandian exuded confidence on BJD winning the ensuing polls saying, “Naveen Patnaik will win from Kantbanji by a record margin and create history.”
“You will not have to pay electricity bills from July as Naveen Patnaik will waive your electricity bills on the first day after taking oath as Chief Minister on June 9,” Pandian added.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promises, Pandian said, “Honourable Prime Minister came here, said that MSP will be Rs 3,100. After being in power for 10 years, he did not think about the farmers. Now there are 10 days to the election, they are thinking about the farmers because they know that the farmers will not vote for them,” adding, “The Prime Minister came to give a booster dose to the BJP. When the election comes, I remember the words of the honorable Prime Minister – farmers, MSP, cold store.”
“In 2014 and 2019, he uttered MSP twice. However, several farmers committed suicide and protested in Delhi during his tenure, but the Prime Minister did nothing, everything was forgotten. Now the election is 10 days later and he is again making hollow promises.”
“The Prime Minister says he will give free electricity through solar power. The secret is that you will deposit Rs 50,000 and only then the solar panels will be installed for you. Of the one crore households in Odisha, only 3 lakh houses will get this facility,” the 5T Chairman claimed.
“The double-engine government is showing the lantern during the day. Do you need a government that shows the lantern, or do you need a government like Naveen Babu’s?” he asked.
Explaining the differences between Ayushman Bharat and BSKY, Pandian said, “Ayushman Bharat offers Rs 5 lakh benefit and supports the insurance companies. On the other hand, the BSKY offers Rs 5 lakh for all and Rs 10 lakh for women. The Naveen Patnaik government is giving benefits directly to people as the BSKY works like Smart Cards and ATMs. Ayushman Bharat only covers 40 lakh families but we offer the BSKY facility to 90 lakh families. What will happen to the remaining 50 lakh families?”
Taking a dig at BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan, Pandian said, “The Union Minister is contesting the election standing on the shoulders of the Prime Minister. He will lose the deposit this time. It’s ironic that he could not contest the election from his native land and is fighting from Sambalpur.”
