Bhubaneswar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi held two rallies in different parts of Odisha. Addressing a gathering at Kendrapara, he asserted that the exit of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is ‘certain’ while shortly afterwards in Balasore he slammed the Congress for failing to demonstrate India’s defence capability in space, claiming that the previous governments were only concerned about the interest of a ‘namdar’ family and not with the country’s security.
Modi’s attack on the Congress and their failure to adopt proper defence measures in Balasore was not lost on the crowd as Chandipur lies in the same district from which Mission Shakti had been launched a few days back.
Earlier at Kendrapara, the PM said that a handful of officers will not be able to save Patnaik. “I want to tell Naveen ‘babu’ that you are going and it is certain. A handful of officials cannot save you,” the Prime Minister said at Barua under the Kendrapara Lok Sabha constituency.
This incidentally was the first time that Modi directly attacked Patnaik during electioneering in the state. “In the first and second phase of polls, I was respectful of the political decorum and refrained from making any personal attack on Naveen ‘babu’ because he has served Odisha for long and deserved a respectable farewell,” Modi said.
“But the way Naveen ‘babu’ took the shelter of violence like Bengal in the past 10 to 12 days, I want to say today, ‘Naveen babu aap jaa rahe ho, apka jaana tai hai’ (you (Patnaik) are going and your exit is certain),” added the Prime Minister. Incidentally, Tuesday was the last day of campaign for Modi in Odisha.
Modi further said that poll-related violence has peaked in Odisha and the state officials were turning a blind eye to it. He said that it has antagonised the people and they were ready to bid Naveen Patnaik adieu with anger.
“It’s confirmed that in Odisha, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) will go and the BJP will come to power after the polls,” asserted Modi.
Modi also criticised the state government for not providing the list of farmers to be benefited under the PM Kisan Yojana and for not implementing the Ayushman Bharat Yojana in the state.
Meanwhile at Balasore, the PM said that history had been created in the district when Mission Shakti (anti-satellite missile test) was launched from Chandipur.
“Balasore’s name has been recorded in history; the anti-satellite missile was launched from this place. The previous governments had shied away from demonstrating the country’s defence capability as they were busy serving the interests of a ‘namdar’ family,” the Prime Minister pointed out.
Hitting out at the opposition parties he said that the opposition was unhappy after the success of Mission Shakti. “While the whole country is rejoicing the success of the Mission Shakti, the ‘mahamilawatis’ (opposition alliance) are unhappy,” Modi said amid cheers.
“From mobile to missile, everything is now controlled from space. Therefore, space security is essential, a fact that was ignored by previous governments,” asserted Modi