BJD, Cong two sides of same coin: Amit Shah

BHUBANESWAR: Barely four days after Congress president Rahul Gandhi termed chief minister Naveen Patnaik as “junior partner” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah on Tuesday said the Congress and Naveen’s BJD are two sides of same coin.

Addressing a rally at Salipur in Cuttack district, 50km from here, Shah said, “BJD aur Congress ek hi sikke ke chatte patte hain. (BJD and Congress are two sides of the same coin). Neither will bring development for Odisha. Despite being minerals-rich, the state has failed to achieve prosperity,” he said.

“You have given long years to Congress to govern the state. You gave 19 years to Naveen. But there was no development of the state. This time, give five years to Modi. We will ensure Odisha becomes the Number One state in the country,” Shah added.

Taking a jibe at Naveen for his inability to speak Odia fluently, Shah said, “This time you should have a chief minister who can speak your language.”

Shah said while the Modi government at the Centre has taken several welfare initiatives for the poor, the Naveen government here has been creating hurdles. “Naveen owes an answer why he deprived the poor from getting universal health coverage by not implementing Ayushman Bharat (the flagship health insurance scheme). He fears, Modi will become more popular. Naveen doesn’t know how to ensure state’s development.”

Referring to the controversy over loss of key of Ratna Bhandar (treasure) of Puri Jagannath temple, the BJP president said, “How can the government that can’t protect the keys of Lord’s treasure, will protect state’s interest.”

Hitting out at the Congress and the “Mahagathabandhan” for “lacking” neta and niti (leader and policy), while aspiring to rule the country, Shah said the BJD-led NDA with 24 partners are standing rock-solid under Modi’s leadership and will return to power with massive mandate.

Stating that four generations of Rahul Gandhi family ruled the country for 55 years, Shah said but they never thought of clean cooking gas and toilets for poor women. Modi government thought of it and showed how this can be done.

Odisha finance minister Shashi Bhusan Behera said Shah has come often to the state and criticised the government to encourage his party cadres. “But these false claims have got no meaning. These will in no way impact the BJD,” Behera said.

Addressing a public meeting here on January 25, Rahul had called Naveen as junior partner of Modi, both having a tacit understanding. Rahul had pointed out how Naveen supported all the PM’s initiatives, from demonetization to various Bills in Parliament.