BJP criticises Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik’s doublespeak on Mahanadi

BHUBANESWAR: A day ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Cuttack, the BJP on Friday came down heavily on Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for his double speak on Mahanadi river water issue.
Centre wanted to resolve the Mahanadi river water dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh through discussion but the Chief Minister played politics, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra said. Criticising the Chief Minister for his double speak on the issue, Patra said 53 per cent of the river water is flowing into the sea and there will be no problem till 2051 as was stated by the Chief Minister in the Assembly in December last year.

On the other hand, at party meetings and other forums he has said Odisha is not getting adequate share of water and Mahanadi river going dry due to construction activities of Chhattisgarh. Naveen Babu is playing politics over the issue, he said and added that BJD, which is in power for 18 years, is raising the Mahanadi water dispute an year before the 2019 general election.

Alleging that Odisha has remained backward because of the inefficiency of the State Government, Patra demanded that the Chief Minister should give report card of four year performance of his Government. Stating that the Modi Government is for the poor, he said the BJP has set a target to construct pucca houses for all by 2022. He said the Modi Government is committed to ensure security of women.

On Congress party’s decision to observe completion of four years of Narendra Modi Government at the Centre on May 26 as the ‘Betrayal day’, Patra said Congress, which had ruled the country for 70 years, has betrayed the people by misappropriating money to the tune of  Rs 14 to 15 lakh crore in various scams.

The Congress during its tenure also failed to provide electricity to 18,000 villages and bring 50 per cent of the population of the country under the banking system, he said.