Bhubaneswar: The Biju Janata Dal Tuesday suggested that the BJP government in Odisha carry forward the schemes and programmes launched by former chief minister Naveen Patnaik as the state had “developed” under his regime.
Patnaik was the chief minister of Odisha between 2000 and 2024 and the state showed improvement in various economic indices, as enumerated in central government documents, the BJD said.
“Let the state’s BJP government not get confined to changing names and colour of logos, but carry forward Patnaik’s schemes as they have proved to be helpful to Odisha’s progress,” BJD national spokesperson Santrupt Mishra said in a press conference.
Citing a report of the Economic Advisory Council to the PM Working Paper (EAC-PM), Mishra and another spokesperson Sasamit Patra said Odisha’s economic progress during the last two decades was possible due to inclusive policies and prudent economic management.
“We are not making such claims, but the report of the EAC-PM reveals such facts,” Patra said.
Quoting the report, the BJD leaders pointed out that during Patnaik’s regime, Odisha registered growth in relative per capita income from 55.8 per cent in 2000-01 to 88.5 per cent in 2023-24.
Similarly, Odisha’s share in the country’s GDP increased from 2.3 per cent to 2.8 per cent during the period.
“While Odisha’s contribution to the country’s GDP increased, Punjab’s share came down to 2.4 per cent from 3.9 per cent, Maharashtra’s share declined to 13.3 per cent from 14 per cent, West Bengal’s from 8.2 per cent to 5.6 per cent. This indicated that Odisha could flourish due to Patnaik’s policies and proper economic management,” Mishra said.
The BJD leaders also said that when Patnaik took over the charge of Odisha in 2000, the state had incurred an overdraft of Rs 144 crore from the Reserve Bank of India.
They claimed that the state was facing difficulties in paying the salaries and pensions to its employees, adding that the state’s per capita income increased to Rs 1,61,437 in 2024 from just Rs 10,211 in 2000.
While 70 per cent of the state’s population was living below the poverty line in 2000, it drastically came down to only 10 per cent in 2024. Similarly, the state’s budget size was only Rs 10,000 crore in 2000 which increased to Rs 2,55,000 in 2023.
The BJD leaders rejected the BJP’s allegation that Odisha could not progress during Patnaik’s 24 years of rule.
PTI