Bhubaneswar: Member of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) Akhilesh Pratap Singh, during his visit to the state capital Saturday, accused Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik of having double standard on key issues affecting the country.
Singh accused the chief minister of colluding with the BJP on key matters in the Parliament and for showing a different face when in Odisha. “Odisha CM represents dual face. When in Parliament, his party helps the BJP government at the Centre by supporting bills like CAA and when in Odisha they try to create a contrasting image by opposing NRC.”
The leader also accused the BJP government at the Centre of disrupting communal harmony in the country. He said, “The ongoing turmoil in the country against CAA and NRC is nothing but sponsored by the BJP. They want to disrupt the existing communal harmony in the state. They are also forcefully trying to enforce controversial laws in the country.”
The leader claimed that the party tried to divide the people of Assam on communal lines through NRC (National Register of Citizens) but failed. Thus, they brought the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). “Now after their failure to achieve their targets through NRC and CAA, they have roped in a new concept of National Population Register (NPR). They are against the basic spirits of Indian Constitution.” he said. The BJP government, he said, is not giving any clarification nor uploading in its website that the documents are not mandatory for enrollment in NPR.
The Congress party on its foundation day today launched a campaign to “save the country and save the constitution ” across the country.
The leader also said that the educated class and students have shown reluctance to accept the forced legislations. He also asked as to why the BJP is raising the issue of citizenship. “Just try to understand their intentions. Their intentions are wrong. Why are they raking up the issue of citizenship now? This has been forced in a country which lacks in record- keeping. Such actions of the Union government can affect a large number of people in the country.”
Singh also took on Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in the light of a recent CAG report on Ujjwala scheme. The leader said that the scheme suffers from many lacunae but it was still accepted by the ministry in the Parliament.
Further, attacking Narendra Modi, Singh said India was the 5th major economic power of the world when Narendra Modi assumed power but now it slipped to seventh position due to wrong policies of the Modi government.
The loan burden of the country from 1947 to 2014 was Rs 48 lakh crore but during the last six years rule of the Modi government it went up to Rs 50 lakh crore.