BJD, Congress accuse BJP of 'betraying' Odisha on special category issue

The ruling BJD and opposition Congress Saturday accused BJP of “betraying” the people of Odisha after Union Finance Minister Nirmal Sitharaman made it clear that the Centre has no plans to accord special category status to the coastal state.

BJD, which has been demanding the status for the state, accused the BJP of "betraying" its people as the saffron party backtracked from its promises made during the elections. “The union finance minister has unfortunately exposed BJP’s true colours. Though BJP had in its election manifesto promised to ensure special category status for Odisha, its leader did not work in that line. It has betrayed the people of Odisha,” BJD vice-president and lawmaker Debi Prasad Mishra told PTI.

“BJP as a party has proved to be a liar. It has completely forgotten its promise made in the election manifesto. The people of Odisha will not tolerate a party which indulges in lies and betrayal,” Mishra said. The general and assembly elections are held in the state simultaneously. Both polls are due next year.

Explained | What is Special Category Status accorded to states?

"Odisha is neglected due to political discrimination for being a non-BJP ruled state," Mishra claimed.

The Centre has provided financial assistance to Karnataka and other BJP-ruled states while grossly neglecting Odisha, for which BJD has been demanding the special category status for long. Apart from the passage of a unanimous resolution in the Assembly, both the party and its chief Naveen Patnaik have all along raised the issue in different platforms, including at the National Development Council meetings, he said.

“But BJP leaders, including union ministers from the state have never thought on this line. Is not it a betrayal towards the state?” he asked. The coastal state is ravaged by natural calamities like cyclones and floods almost every year which cause huge damage to life and property. The BJD is all along demanding the special category status to Odisha in the wake of its vulnerability to disasters, the party leader said.

“Finance commission recommendation cannot be a plea for the BJP-led government at the Centre. It can identify Odisha as a special state for being calamity prone and housing a large chunk of tribals,” he argued. He claimed that the state under Naveen Patnaik has made significant development in different sectors and has become the only one to bring down poverty to a specific level.

However, its per capita income is much less than developed states like Maharashtra and Punjab. "To achieve the goal, the Centre must give special attention to Odisha,” Mishra asserted. Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Sarat Pattnayak blamed both BJD and BJP for the Centre not according the special category status to Odisha. “It is clear that both the parties have betrayed the state. The BJD was in alliance with the NDA government from 2000 to 2009, but Naveen Patnaik could not motivate the Central government to give the status to the state. Both the parties are the same as they deliberately mislead the people of Odisha during election by speaking of special category status,” Pattnayak said.

He blamed BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who gave call for 'Purvadoya' for development of eastern India. “How can India progress when the Centre denies special category to eastern Indian states? BJP in its turn pointed out that there are certain criteria for according special category status to a state and “Odisha may not be fitting into them".

The finance commission too has certain recommendations. "Anyway, the Centre is giving more funds for the development of the state. Therefore, there should be no problem for its development,” Leader of Opposition Jaynarayan Mishra (BJP) said.

The leader of opposition accused the BJD dispensation for being unable to spend the central allocations. “If you (BJD govt) are unable to spend the funds, how can you manage the allocations made under the special category status?” he asked and told the BJD to stop misleading the people on the issue.

Since 1969, a total 11 states - Assam, Nagaland, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Uttarakhand and Telangana were accorded the status as they share borders with other countries. Telangana is an exception as it got the status of a state through an act of Parliament.