Bhubaneswar: Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Niranjan Patnaik Friday said the NDA government at the Centre and BJD government in the state have failed to take any step to improve the financial condition of the farmers.
The Congress in Odisha will hit the streets if the BJD government and the NDA government did not fulfill the promises made to the farmers, Patnaik told newspersons here.
He alleged that neither the BJP nor the BJD has concern for the farmers and shedding only crocodile tears.
The state Congress chief alleged that both the state and the Centre have betrayed the farmers, the youth and the people of the state by making only false promises.
He said the state passed a unanimous resolution recommending the central government to hike the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy to Rs 2,930 per quintal.
Despite its promises, the state government did not bother to disburse a single rupee as bonus to the farmers over and above the MSP he said, adding that the government should learn from its Chhattisgarh counterpart which has given bonus to farmers on and above the MSP.
The OPCC president said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik did not allow the farmers agitating under the banner of Naba Nirman Krushak Sangathan to enter the Capital city in support of their demands.
The state government has also not fulfilled its promise to provide one lakh job to the youths every year in the state.
Similarly, the Union government also failed to hike the MSP of paddy by one-and-half times of its cost of production, provide one crore job to the youths in the country every year and job to 1 lakh unemployed Odia youths in IOCL refinery at Paradip.
Patnaik said the BJD government during its 18years of rule has not launched a single scheme for the benefit of the SC/ST people who constituted 40 per cent of the total population.
He alleged that the panchayat representatives are not involved in the implementation of Ama Gaon Ama Bikash and in Peoples Empowerment-Enabling and Enhancing Accountability on Odisha initiatives (PEETHA) programme,
The Congress president said the government offices educational institutions and courts were closed for months together in Sambalpur due to the lawyers’ agitation, the government has no concern over it.
The state government has also failed to take up the issue of according Special Category status to Odisha either in Parliament or with the Niti Aayog.
Patnaik said after the defeat of BJP in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh the issue of waiving of the crop loan is being raised in every state.
The Congress, he said, has decided to provide financial assistance to farmers for five years and solar pumps besides waiving the crop loan.
Patnaik said the Manifesto Committee of the party is preparing special plans for farmers, women, SC/ST and youths of the state.
Patnaik said soil test of every village would be done to identify which village would be suitable for which crop.