Khurda (Odisha): Hitting out at Naveen Patnaik’s BJD government in Odisha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday alleged the “demon of corruption” has become strong in the state with an all-pervading ‘percentage commission culture’.
Virtually sounding a poll bugle in Odisha where state elections would coincide with the national polls next year, Modi alleged that inefficiency and corruption has kept the state backward despite assistance from the Centre and sought to know who is “feeding and patronising the demon of corruption”.
Modi was addressing a BJP rally in Khurda town near the state capital Bhubaneshwar after launching a slew of projects for the state and releasing a stamp and a coin to commemorate Odisha’s 1817 Paika rebellion.
“Demon of corruption in the form of chit fund scams and PC (percentage commission) culture has grown strong in Odisha,” he said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has declared Odisha as a priority state for the state as well as Lok Sabha elections.
In a stinging attack on the BJD government, Modi said, “The Centre has launched a slew of project and pumped in huge funds for Odisha’s development, but despite all these, the state is lagging behind.”
He also criticised the Odisha Government for not implementing the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, the NDA government’s national health protection scheme, in the state.
“People of Odisha are asking why the state has not accepted the Ayus-hman Bharat Yojana. If Odisha had implemented this scheme, people would have gotten free medical care across the country,” he said
While more than six lakh people of the nation have been benefited by the scheme, not a single person from Odisha is among the beneficiaries, he added. Patnaik will be seeking a fifth term as CM next year.
