)
Accusing BJD government in Odisha of being 'neck-deep in corruption', Trinamool Congress leader Soumen Mahapatra today said besides mining and other scams, the state suffered from misrule in the last 14 years as all promises on development turned out to be hollow.
"BJD regime is neck-deep in corruption which has engulfed Odisha ... The M B Shah Commission's report has mentioned mining scam to the tune of Rs 60,000 crore," Mahapatra, who is the West Bengal Water Resources minister told newsmen here.
Despite BJD government's claim of being clean, its 14-year rule has become a dark chapter in Odisha as mine mafias are controlling the political leaders, he alleged.
Charging BJD of being in power in Odisha for a third term by making false promises, Mahapatra said farmers in the state were hit hard as only eight per cent of the land could be irrigated in the last 14 years and not a single cold storage was constructed by the government.
BJD has this time promised to provide employment to 15 lakh youths, but people are not sure whether 15,000 persons were given jobs in the last 14 years, he said.
Ridiculing Naveen Patnaik government's claims about progress and development, Mahapatra sought to know why Odisha occupied number one position in the list of most backward states in the country.
Due to acute unemployment, thousands of people move out of Odisha in search of jobs elsewhere, he said dubbing BJD's claims about development as 'hollow'.
Hitting out at Congress, he said corruption was rampant during BJD rule as the main opposition party failed to discharge its duty as it had weakened.
