Niti Aayog ranking: Cong blames Centre, State for Odisha’s dismal performance

BHUBANESWAR: Amid the blame game between the ruling BJD and BJP over  Niti Aayog SDG Index, the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) on Monday alleged that both the parties are hand-in-glove and are now playing to the gallery to shift attention from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Price rise and growing unemployment are major challenges before the Centre and the State government. However, both the ruling parties at the Centre and the State are ignoring these issues,” former finance minister Panchanan Kanungo told media persons. Prices of petroleum products have touched all-time high after independence but no steps are being taken to bring them under control, he said.

Alleging that the state of the economy has nosedived in Odisha despite record GST collections, the former finance minister said that the unemployment rate which was 6.2 per cent last year has now gone up to 12 per cent. “Both the Centre and State have failed to address this crucial issue during the Covid-19 pandemic and are now trying to shift the blame to each other,” he added.

Stating that Odisha has failed in all parameters including health, education, employment general and good governance, Kanungo said that the failure to provide concrete houses to people in the State is yet another failure of the government.