Patnaik hits out at Centre, seeks special status for Odisha

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today hit out at the Centre accusing it of following a policy of "political discrimination" in grant of central assistance even as he made a strong pitch of special category status for his state.
"The policy of political discrimination pursued by the UPA government is a dangerous trend, not conducive to a healthy federal structure. The UPA government is following different policies for different states," Patnaik said addressing a rally here.
He alleged that the "self-interest" of the Congress party has become the "sole criteria" for central assistance ignoring the "just demands" of states like Odisha which fulfill all criteria required for grant of special status.

"The central government has been giving funds to different states on political considerations. Should the money paid by crores of tax payers of the country be used for a narrow interest of a political party?" he asked.
The demand for special status "shall continue till we achieve our just demand" because it concerns the "Oriya dignity" and aspirations of the four crore people of the state, he said.
Patnaik, who sought to strike a chord with the crowd by speaking in his mother tongue, said the nation cannot move forward by denying even one state of its rightful claim but "successive government's at the centre have ignored their demand for justice".

Apparently hitting out at opposition Congress and BJP in the state which have described the gathering here as an "amusement rally", Patnaik said he was disappointed that some leaders in the state and political parties were engaged in compromising the dignity of the state.