Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 20 said that the Odisha Chief Minister’s Office and residence were taken over by miscreants and this mechanism would be taken apart when the saffron party comes to power on June 10.
Viewed as the shrillest of attacks, Mr. Modi has mounted on Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and his close aide V. K. Pandian during his whirlwind tours to Odisha this election, he said the mafia was controlling everything and not allowing anyone to compete.
The Prime Minister held a roadshow in Puri early in the morning and addressed public meetings in Angul and Cuttack on Monday. He took a potshot at Mr. Pandian, who was a Tamil Nadu-born former bureaucrat.
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Mr. Modi said there were discussions as to how the keys of Ratna Bhandar, the inner chamber of Shree Jagannath Temple, Puri, had gone to Tamil Nadu.
“Even Jagannath Mandir is not safe under BJD rule. For the past six years, the keys of Shri Jagannatha’s ‘Ratna Bhandar’ has been missing. Leaders of BJD are involved in this conspiracy. Once the BJP forms the government in Odisha, we will make the report of the commission of inquiry public,” he said.
Mr. Modi reiterated that Odisha continued to lag in its development path despite the State possessing huge natural resources; thousands of youths and farmers were leaving the State in search of work. “I am deeply hurt,” he said.
The veteran BJP leader urged voters to give BJP an opportunity for five years as they had given 25 years to Biju Janta Dal. “Give BJP a chance and I assure you, a person belonging to Odisha, who knows tradition and culture of the State, will become the Chief Minister,” he said.
The Prime Minister also promised to increase the minimum support price of paddy to ₹3,100 per quintal and that farmers would get the money directly in the bank accounts within 48 hours.
Published - May 20, 2024 07:52 pm IST
