Lok Sabha Elections 2024: In 'charge sheet', BJP alleges Odisha govt of corruption; BJD moves EC

Bhubaneswar: Ahead of elections to the Odisha assembly and Lok Sabha, the BJP on Wednesday unveiled a 'charge sheet' against the nearly 25-year-old BJD government in the state, accusing it of being involved in corruption and irregularities.

Accusing the BJP of levelling “malicious and defamatory content without evidence”, the BJD moved the Election Commission against the ‘charge sheet’ and claimed it violated the model code of conduct.

Senior BJP leader and Union minister Bhupender Yadav released the 50-page ‘charge sheet’ and alleged that the BJD could not provide drinking water supply, set up more cold storages and increase farmers’ income despite ruling the state for over two decades.

“The ruling party has failed miserably in making the state safe for women. The rise in the number of missing children is another area of concern,” the union minister said.

The Naveen Patnaik government has also failed to achieve its promised target of providing irrigation facilities to 35 per cent of land in every block of the state, Yadav claimed.

He also alleged that it could not set up cold storages in all 314 blocks of Odisha.

The higher education system in the state is in a deplorable state as more than 4300 posts of lecturers are lying vacant, he said.

Similarly, he claimed, more than 6400 villages, most of which are in tribal areas, are yet to get road connectivity.

The BJP leader further said that the BJD government has failed to provide employment to the youths and because of that, people migrated to Mumbai, Gujarat and Chennai in search of livelihood.

Over 40,000 labourers have moved out of Odisha in the past year, he claimed.

The BJP leader said the authorities are selling power produced in Odisha to Tamil Nadu at Rs 2.53 per unit whereas the people of Odisha are paying Rs 2.83 per unit.

Reacting to the charge sheet of the BJP, senior BJD leader Swarup Das said the state government has taken several measures for the empowerment of women, farmers and youths.

The government has provided assistance to ration card holders, interest-free loans to women SHGs, scholarships to college students and subsidies to farmers.

Through these initiatives, the income of people has been increased, he claimed.

The BJD leader said the people of Odisha will reject the charge sheet and give a befitting reply to the BJP in the upcoming elections.

In response, the BJD has submitted a petition to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar demanding strong action against the BJP leaders who published the document.

Terming it as a feeble attempt to tarnish the image of its leaders, the BJD said it violates the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and urged the EC to halt its circulation.

“When Odisha BJP leaders sense that they are going to lose an election, they have the habit of making false, malicious and baseless allegations without evidence,” BJD leader and candidate for Balasore Lok Sabha seat, Lekhashree Samantasinghar said.

The BJP had also released a similar document in 2019 when the party realised it was losing the elections, she said.

Samantasinghar, who recently joined the BJD after resigning from the BJP, claimed that Odisha is the only state which has doubled farmers’ income.