Naveen to face Manik fate in 2019, says Oram

Senior BJP leader and Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram on Sunday said the Naveen Patnaik Government would face the fate of the Manik Sarkar Government of Tripura and people of Odisha would vote the BJP to power in the 2019 general elections.

“The Manik Sarkar Government indulged in scams and corruptions under the guise of simplicity and clean image as the Naveen Patnaik Government is doing here. People will vote against corruption, political violence, Government-sponsored violence and exploitation and partisan politics in the 2019 elections and opt for the BJP as the best party,” said Oram at a Press conference here.

He said Chief Minister Manik Sarkar had too got ‘Ideal Chief Minister Award’ last year from the same organisation that conferred the award on Naveen Patnaik this year.

He said people have discarded the Congress and chosen the BJP as the only alternative to the BJD in Odisha.

However, senior BJD leader and Panchayati Raj Minister Pradeep Maharathy mocked at Oram’s assertion, saying Lotus would never bloom in Odisha as the Mahanadi water has been taken away by Chhattisgarh. “Let the BJP dream, but it will get either 12 or 20 MLAs, a number with deletion of either first or last digit of its target of 120,” he added.