Balasore: Bolstered by BJP's success in Assam, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday made a strong pitch for his party in Odisha and asked people to vote for change, asserting that his government would work for the common man and does not discriminate against anyone.
"Our government strives for the welfare of poor across the country, we don't want any state or any region in the country to be devoid of development and change," Prime Minister Modi said while addressing BJP's 'Vikas Parv' rally in Balasore.
Read: Modi govt goes all out showcasing achievements at 2-year bash
Addressing the party’s Vikash Utsav rally here at AIIMS Groun, Modi, without making direct reference to the ruling BJD headed by Naveen Patnaik, - said the government in Bhubaneswar was sleeping in deep slumber and needed to be replaced by the BJP can bring growth and development.
“BJP and Vikash (development) are synonymous. Look at the BJP-ruled states such as Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and Rajasthan, Maharashtra. These states have made rapid strides in development on all sectors. Compare these states with non-BJP ruled states, including Odisha and West Bengal. People in Odisha still languish in poverty and suffer from lack of infrastructure such as roads, bridges and railway network. Electricity is still a distant dream in many villages of Odisha. Don’t you want development here? Let’s bring BJP to power here,” he said.
Taking an indirect dig at Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s populist sops that are often attributed to his party’s repeated successes in successive Assembly and Lok Sabha polls, - the Prime Minister said, “If you roll out sops and make false promises, you can win elections, but we can never bring sustainable development in the state. People will continue to suffer from poverty and deprivation.”
Claiming that the BJP always believed in accountability, the Prime Minister said he came to Balasore to tell the people what his government had achieved in the last two years.
He listed out successes of many programmes and schemes such as Make in India, Startup India, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana rolled out by his government.
“I have come here to give you a detailed account of our pre-poll promises and what we have achieved in the last years. Did the previous government (UPA) ever give account of its commitments and achievements in those respects? Does the present Odisha government do this exercise?” he questioned.
This was the third visit of Mr Modi to Odisha in the last six months. On February 7, he had addressed a farmers’ rally in Bargarh in western Odisha. He again visited the state on February 27 to Paradip in coastal Odisha to dedicate the Paradip Oil Refinery project of Oil India Corporation to the nation.
The Balasore rally was attended by at least two lakh people from five North Odisha districts such as Keonjhar, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur and Mayurbhanj.
Keonjhar, Balasore and Mayurbhanj parliamentary constituencies which were represented by the BJP from 1998 till 2009, are now under the BJD control. The BJP is trying to regain its hold in these three crucial Lok Sabha constituencies.
