Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Thursday alleged the Naveen Patnaik government continues to be in power in Odisha due to the absence of an opposition, as the BJD, the BJP and the Congress are hand in glove with each other to "share the booty".
He was addressing a meeting of 'Samajik Nyaya Abhijan', promoted by former Union minister Srikant Jena, who was expelled from Congress recently.
Kejriwal alleged the three major parties have an "unseen alliance" and they do not oppose each other because of which the state failed to develop despite being endowed with rich minerals and natural resources.
"All of them are sharing the booty for which there is no real opposition," the president of Aam Admi Party (AAP) alleged.
"Here in Odisha, there is no opposition to the state government which continued for long. The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is in the pocket of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Congress in the state is in the BJD's pocket," Kejriwal, who was accompanied by party MP Sanjay Singh, said.
Naveen Patnaik has been ruling Odisha since 2000.
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Meanwhile, sources said the AAP is likely to contest both the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Odisha along with Jena's Samajik Nyaya Abhijan. The national and state polls are expected to coincide in Odisha this year.
Jena announced that he would back Kejriwal in the state. The expelled Congress leader, who said joining the AAP was not a "sin", did not comment if he would contest upcoming election on AAP ticket.
Kejriwal said that though Delhi buys power from other states, the electricity tariff is Rs 1 per unit and in Odisha, which is a power generating state, the rate is Rs 5.75 per unit.
"This is possible in Delhi because we do not take bribes. This can also be a reality in Odisha, but, the leadership needs to take a decision in this regard," he said.
"If I allow power distributing companies to hike the tariff only by 50 paise per unit, they will not hesitate to donate Rs 100 or Rs 200 crore by evening to our party fund. But, the AAP government has not done so and ensured that the people get cheap power," the Delhi chief minister said.
He also spoke about the government-run schools in Delhi. "I invite Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Babu to visit our schools and see what is possible in the government sector," he said.
"The parents are now pulling their children out of private schools and getting them admitted in government schools. The results of government schools in Delhi are 10 per cent better than the private ones," the chief minister said.
He also claimed that the Delhi government has not allowed fee hike by private schools since four years. "Even the schools which had raised fees during the Sheila Dixit government were asked to return money to parents," Kejriwal said.
The AAP leader said his son is studying in DPS, Noida and not in any schools in Delhi. "I did not recommend the case of my son because I know, the private schools will take advantage," he said.
He said that AAP government has provided better education, health, drinking water and power to the people. "There has been great change in Delhi because, we do not pocket public money," the chief minister claimed.
Alleging that the mines mafia control the state government in Odisha, Kejriwal said development of the state could be possible only if the leadership was honest as it had been in Delhi.
The Delhi chief minister called upon the people to come forward and change the government if they want better facilities like those available to the people of Delhi. "You have the keys of change. If you want it, then come forward because change is possible," he said.
"The people must decide whether they want 'mining raj' or 'janata raj'," Kejriwal said.