Amid rival sloganeering, Shah says PM will develop Odisha in cooperation with BJD

Shortly after BJP and BJD supporters started a war of slogans during a non-political programme here on Monday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah made it clear that the Centre seeks to develop Odisha in cooperation with the state government.

Shah, sharing dais with BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, also said that with a number of people from Odisha heading some top offices of the country, the state has been experiencing "Achhe Din" (good times).

Besides Shah and Patnaik, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan who is from the state attended the 75th anniversary of 'Prajatantra', a leading Odia daily, at an indoor stadium where an equal number of seats were allocated to supporters and leaders of the two parties.

As the programme was about to begin, slogans like "Amit Shah Zindabad" and "Naveen Patnaik Zindabad" rent the air in the stadium. There was a poster war between the two parties ahead of Shah's arrival in the state.

The supporters of the two parties stopped shouting slogans only after Pradhan made an appeal to the audience to calm down.

"Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, we are trying our best to achieve the overall development of Odisha in cooperation with the state government. He wats that as Team India, both the central and state governments work together for the development," Shah said in his address.

Mentioning that "Achhe Din" has already come for Odisha, he said the Union home minister said that from the President of India to the RBI governor, Odisha has the maximum number of representatives at the national level.

"A woman from a poor tribal village of Odisha has gone on to become the 'Mahamahim' (Honourable President) of India. Dharmendra Pradhan is the Union Education Minister and Ashwini Vaishnaw is the Railway Minister. (Bisheswar) Tudu is also a member of the council of ministers. Odisha had never got such a huge representation at the national level since Independence. Therefore, it is Achhe Din for the state," Shah said.

Noting that Odisha has huge potential to emerge as a "state of possibilities", Shah said, "There is a long coastline, rich mineral resources, forests and talented human resources here. I see a great future here." The chief minister, during his address, welcomed Shah to Odisha.

His statement came after a BJP MP alleged that no state minister nor any senior official like the home secretary or the DGP was present at the airport to receive Shah at the airport when he landed at about 1.30 am.

The MP, Aparajita Sarangi, tweeted: ''How does one explain this callousness? Indifference or on purpose? A special secretary of the home department represented the state government there. "It is a matter of happiness that Hon'ble Union Home Minister Amit Shah has joined the function along with me. I welcome him to Odisha," Patnaik said and then shifted to the subject of the function. The Media should discharge its duty without any fear or favour, Patnaik said.

"Our country stands tall on this foundational principle. Our democratic values have helped us to steer successfully through all the trials and tribulations in the course of these 75 glorious years," he said and wished Prajatantra on the occasion.

Heaping praises on Dr Harekrushna Mahtab, the founder of 'Prajatantra', for his contribution to the freedom struggle, the Union home minister said that people will also remember him for his work to promote Odia literature.

Later, at a book release programme, Shah expressed confidence that the BJP will form the government at the Centre again after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the party will secure a two-third majority.

He also claimed that the party will form government in Odisha after the assembly polls scheduled to be held in the same year.

The BJP leader was speaking at a programme where the Odia translation of the book, 'Modi@20: Dreams Meet Delivery', was launched. The book chronicles Modi's journey from a Gujarat chief minister to the country's prime minister.

Before the programme at the indoor stadium, Shah offered prayers at Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneswar, and visited the Netaji museum in Cuttack, where he also paid floral tributes to the revolutionary leader.

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