)
Asking the electorate to vote out the BJD government led by Naveen Patnaik, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi today said despite maximum fund allocation by the UPA government to the state, money could not reach the people.
"The UPA government has plans to set up a manufacturing corridor through which lakhs of people can be provided jobs," he said, accusing the BJD government of rendering thousands jobless. "This is the time for change, give rest to the present government in Odisha and bring back Congress to power to witness real development," Gandhi said at a public meeting at Nabakrushna Choudhury Stadium here.
He said though Odisha is rich in resources in terms of minerals, the Raghuram Rajan Committee report puts the state at bottom of the list of backward places.
"We want people's money should go back to the pockets of the people and not to the select industrial houses," he said. "Now-a-days, one can find 'Made in China' in most of the products. Don't you want to see products having stickers like 'Made in Odisha' and 'Made in India'," he asked. Gandhi, who undertook his second visit to Odisha in a fortnight, claimed that though the UPA government had allocated maximum funds to the state government, development could not reach the poor and needy people.
"The Odisha government wanted to favour only three/four industries to reap benefits from state's wealth while Congress worked for the betterment of all," Gandhi said. Apparently taking a cue from Aam Admi Party (AAP), Gandhi said Congress had sought views of people six months ago to prepare its election manifesto. "You (people) told us to ensure better health care for the common people. We have pledged to bring 'Right to Health' with a guarantee to provide health service to all," he said.
Maintaining that the poor and middle class people will get better health care once the 'Right to Health Bill' is passed, Gandhi said everybody will be given free medicines.
"We will ensure pucca houses for poor to protect them from cold and heat. Now some people get houses under Indira Awas Yojana while others do not get," he said in another dig at the BJD dispensation. The resources generated from across the country were returned to the people through different welfare schemes like MGNREGA and Food Security Act, he said. The Congress leader also talked about his party's plan of reserving 33 per cent of seats in Lok Aabha and Assembly elections for women and said the UPA government has plans to open 2,000 Mahila Police Stations across the country.
