BJD govt grabbing Centre’s money for farmers: Dharmendra Pradhan

BARGARH: Continuing his criticism of the ruling BJD in poll-bound Padampur, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday accused the Odisha government of grabbing the money released by the Centre for farmers.

Addressing a public meeting at Mandosil here, Pradhan said, “Though the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre has fixed the MSP of paddy at Rs 1,940 per quintal, the farmers of Mandosil are getting only Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,300 per quintal. The union government released money for farmers but the state government in connivance with big businessmen swindled the funds.” 

Citing the lack of infrastructure at Mandosil market yard, Pradhan said, “The money for development of the market yard was sanctioned by the Modi government. Where have you (Naveen) spent that money?”
He further said the BJP wants a permanent solution to the irregularities in paddy procurement. “The state government pretends to be concerned about farmers. Though Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has met Prime Minister Narendra Modi several times, I have never seen or read of him voicing the concerns of farmers.”

In 2016, the Chief Minister had announced in Sohela that apart from the Central grant, the state government will pay a bonus of Rs 100 on every quintal of paddy. However, not a single farmer of the state has received the bonus yet, he claimed.

The Union Minister said once BJP candidate Pradip Purohit enters the Odisha Assembly, he would break the nexus between the government and businessmen. Pradhan also accused the state government of failing to address the issues of farmers like irrigation and water supply. Under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikash Yojana, around Rs 360 crore was sanctioned for drought-prone areas in Odisha in 2017-18.

However, the state spent only Rs 174 crore. Similarly in 2018-19, Rs 450 crore was sanctioned but Rs 242 crore was spent by Odisha. This year, Rs 120 crore has been sanctioned but the government could only spend Rs 10 crore. The state government has failed miserably to implement the schemes launched by the Centre for people of Odisha, he alleged.

Raising the issue of migration, Pradhan said, “The youths of Odisha are going to Hyderabad and Tamil Nadu in search of jobs. But the ministers of the state are claiming that there is no migration here. They should feel ashamed of having failed to generate employment in Odisha even after being in power for 22 years.” 

‘Naba to bring downfall of Naveen’
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan came down heavily on state Health Minister Naba Kishore Das. He said one of the BJD ministers, who is in charge of the health portfolio, has failed to perform in his department. But he has been camping at Paikmal with a bagful of money. “He was responsible for the downfall of former chief minister Janaki Ballabh Patnaik. Perhaps the downfall of Naveen Patnaik is inching closer as he has kept this minister near him,” Pradhan added.