BJD govt will expire on June 4: PM Narendra Modi at Odisha rally

BJD obstructed Centre's schemes in Odisha, says PM Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday called himself the “son of Lord Jagannatha” and declared that the expiry date of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government in Odisha is June 4, the day the election results will be announced.

The PM said his government had allocated Rs 3.5 trillion to the state against Rs 1 trillion by the Manmohan Singh regime, but the BJD government was not able to spend the money. Accusing the BJD government of not allowing his schemes to be implemented in Odisha, Modi said, “Instead, it hijacked the Centre’s schemes and implemented them with its own stamp. The people would not spare the BJD regime for its sin.”

The BJP has promised jobs for youths and women and health facilities for senior citizens, paddy procurement at Rs 3,100 the day after the party comes to power in the state. 

In a rare exchange of words, Patnaik termed the PM’s claim about the BJP forming government in the state as “daydreaming”. 

The PM’s statements at rallies in Berhampur and Nabarangpur, his first in the state after the announcement of poll dates, came a little over a month after the talks for an alliance with the BJD failed.

In his previous two rallies this year, the PM had referred to Patnaik as his mitra (friend) and lokpriya (popular) CM of Odisha. Even during Monday’s rallies, Modi didn’t take Patnaik’s name, though he targeted the CM for distress migration and lack of irrigation and cold storage facilities in his constituency.

He blamed the Congress and the BJD, who ruled the resource-rich Odisha for 75 years, for the “rampant loot” and the state’s backwardness.

The BJD is sinking, the Congress is a spent force, and the BJP is the only ray of hope for the people of Odisha, Modi said, adding that Odisha would get a double-engine government for the first time. “June 4 is the expiry date of the BJD government. On June 6, the BJP will select its CM candidate, who will take oath on June 10. I have come here to invite you to the swearing-in ceremony,” the PM said.

Patnaik was quick to hit back. “The BJP has been daydreaming for many days,” the CM said, responding to a question from his close aide V K Pandian. At a rally in Kalahandi, Pandian said, “Patnaik will take oath as the Chief Minister of Odisha for the sixth consecutive time between 11.30 am to 1.30 pm on June 9.”

The Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Odisha will be held simultaneously in four phases from May 13.