BJD govt neglecting OBCs: Union ministers

Union ministers Ram Kripal Yadav and Dharmendra Pradhan Thursday hit out at the BJD government in Odisha accusing it of neglecting the people belonging to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Addressing a party meeting for the OBCs at Kantabanji in the state's Balangir district, the two senior BJP leaders alleged that the Naveen Patnaik government has failed on all fronts in the last 19 years and was insensitive to the problems of the backward classes.

"The BJD government has failed miserably to address the problems of people from backward classes. It is only the BJP which is sincerely working for the uplift of these people," Yadav, the minister of state for rural development, said "The Centre has taken many steps for the welfare of the backward classes ... It will be a boon for OBCs in Odisha if the BJP comes to power in the state in the upcoming polls," he said.

Mounting a scathing attack on the BJD government, the union minister alleged that no work can be done in Odisha without paying commission as corruption was rampant in the state. "PC (percentage commission) is all pervasive in Odisha," Yadav claimed.

Speaking in the same vein, Pradhan, the union minister for petroleum and natural gas, accused the BJD government of failing to do any work for the people of Odisha, especially for the backward classes. He said the Narendra Modi government at the Centre constituted the OBC commission to look after matters related to the people of the backward classes.

The Naveen Patnaik government, on the other hand, is not at all sensitive to the wellbeing of the OBCs, he said. Western Odisha in general and backward Balangir district in particular witnessed speedy development under the BJP rule at the Centre, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)