BJD and BJP governing Odisha in partnership: Rahul Gandhi

BHUBANESWAR: On the second day of his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Odisha, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday hit out at Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) saying that both these parties are governing Odisha in partnership.

Addressing a gathering at Panposh in Rourkela, Gandhi said, “The partnership between Naveen Patnaik and Narendra Modi runs the government in Odisha. They are closely involved and both work together. I have also observed in the parliament that whenever the PM needs the help of BJD, the members of the latter start harassing us on the instructions of Modi. There is a partnership government of BJP and BJD in Odisha and it is only the Congress party that is fighting against this partnership.”

He said that 30 lakhs people from Odisha have migrated outside the state and are working as labourers in other states of the country as the state government is not working properly. He also alleged that 30 billionaires from outside have come to Odisha to loot the resources of the state.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leaders including Jairam Ramesh, party's Odisha in-Charge Ajoy Kumar, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee President Sarat Patnaik held a Press conference in Rourkela. The leaders reiterated that Congress is the only alternative in Odisha as both BJP and BJD are two sides of the same coin.

Ramesh said that public sector units like the Rourkela Steel Plant and other steel plants at Durgapur in West Bengal, Bhilai in Chhattisgarh, Bokaro in Jharkhand, the NALCO Aluminium plant at Angul and NTPC thermal power plant at Talcher in Odisha along with dams like Bhakra-Nangal and Hirakud are milestones in the economic development of India. All these PSUs were established by previous Congress governments which are in danger now.

He also claimed that if BJP comes to power for the third term, then PSUs such as Rourkela Steel Plant, NALCO will be sold off to private players. Ramesh said the Congress is the only party fighting against the ideology of BJP and RSS.

In a veiled attack on 5T chairman VK Pandian and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Ramesh said that two ‘P’ are running the government in Odisha.

Meanwhile, leaders of both BJP and BJD rubished the allegations made by Congress as 'lies'.