Bhubaneswar: Senior BJP leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan Sunday said the Congress party and Biju Janata Dal are responsible for Odisha’s backwardness.
The former Madhya Pradesh leader who was here in the city said the BJD and the Congress were ruling Odisha for several decades and still Odisha is one of the most backward states in the country. The state government has also failed to distribute money under the Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme.
“Under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme, farmers will get `6,000, which will be credited to their bank accounts. Why is the Odisha government not providing the list of farmers to the Centre? If the state government has really provided money under the KALIA scheme to farmers, why there is no list of the beneficiaries,’’ asked Chouhan.
The Congress party, he said will never learn learn lessons from its defeat in the Lok Sabha elections as it still wants Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi to lead the party.
He said the people have rejected dynasty politics in the Lok Sabha elections and it would have been better if the Congress had gone for a new leadership by choosing out of the Gandhi family.
“Congress is not willing to learn. It is surprising that the Congress Working Committee (CWC) still wants Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi to lead the party,” the visiting Bharatiya Janata Party leader said.
Notably, Sonia Gandhi was appointed as interim president of the Congress at the party’s working committee meeting Saturday. The Congress should select a new leader through a democratic process or else no one can save the party.
Responding to the allegations, BJD MLA Shashi Bhusan Behera said the 15th Finance Commission and several economists have praised Odisha government’s KALIA scheme. He said criticising the government is an insult to the people’s mandate.
Senior Congress leader Suresh Routray also responded to Chauhan’s allegations on Gandhi family, saying the BJP was making such statements out of panic after Sonia Gandhi was appointed the interim Congress president. BJP has no business to discuss Congress’ internal matters, he added.