Bhubaneswar, May 30: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) are in a partnership in Odisha. He also said that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik “is working for the BJP” in Odisha. Addressing an election rally in Balasore, the Wayanad MP said: “I have been fighting against the BJP so 24 cases have been filed against me, including defamation, criminal cases. They sent me to jail for two years and snatched away my membership in the Lok Sabha.
I was questioned by the ED for 50 hours, and they took away my house as well. “While giving away the keys of the government-allotted house, I told them that I don’t need the government house. My house is in the heart of crores of Indians as well as the people of Odisha. If CM Patnaik was actually fighting against BJP, then why no case was registered against him, why his house was not snatched away? Why was his membership not cancelled and why he was not questioned? The reason behind this is BJD’s Naveen Patnaik is working for the BJP here in Odisha.” The Congress leader further alleged that both BJP and BJD are “same and partners” in Odisha.
He said the aim of the partnership between the BJD and BJP is to loot the wealth of the people of Odisha such as mines and other natural resources. Rahul Gandhi also criticised the close aide of CM Patnaik and former bureaucrat, V.K. Pandian. “The government here is not run by Naveen Babu but by Pandianji and he is also running the government here for billionaires,” he said. He said that the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in Telangana was in a partnership with the BJP, and the BRS chief minister was also working for the BJP in Telangana. “The Congress fought against both the BJP and BRS and decimated both of them in Telangana. Today, Telangana has the rule of the people, not the billionaires. Crores of rupees are being provided to common people, women are travelling in buses at free of cost,” Rahul Gandhi said.
The Congress leader stated that the party will implement the Mahalaxmi Yojana after forming the government on June 4. “Crores of women in Odisha will find Rs 8,500 deposited in their bank accounts on July 4. He said a total Rs 1 lakh per annum will be deposited in the bank accounts of crores of women in the country,” he added. Voting for the final phase of polling in six Parliamentary constituencies and 42 assembly segments under these constituencies of Odisha will be held on June 1.
