Union ministers review schemes in Odisha, BJD slams Centre's 'inspector raj'

The senior BJD leader had said on Friday that there was nothing wrong in union ministers visiting the state and reviewing central schemes but they should concentrate on official work and not indulge in politics.Rai, besides being critical of the BJD government in the state, claimed that the BJP was gaining ground in Odisha with each passing day.From winning just one Lok Sabha seat in Odisha in 2014, we won eight in 2019.

With seven Union ministers visiting different districts of Odisha to review implementation of various central schemes, the ruling BJD has asserted that people will not accept this ''inspector raj'' of the central government.

Five central ministers reached Odisha on Friday, while two others did on Saturday.

Nityananda Rai, Union Minister of State for Home, during a press meet in Cuttack, claimed that benefits of central schemes were not reaching common people, prompting BJD MLA Sashibhusan Behera to hit back, stating that the public was well aware of all that the state government had been doing for them and they won't accept anything that's not true.

Rai, talking to reporters on Saturday, said, ''It appears that the benefits of different central schemes are not reaching people. It seems the state government's inept handling of the schemes were responsible for it.'' The cudgel for the ruling BJD was taken up by Behera, who said that ''this inspector raj on the part of union ministers was unacceptable. People of Odisha will not accept it as they are aware of central schemes and the state government efforts to implement them''. The senior BJD leader had said on Friday that there was nothing wrong in union ministers visiting the state and reviewing central schemes ''but they should concentrate on official work and not indulge in politics''.

Rai, besides being critical of the BJD government in the state, claimed that the BJP was gaining ground in Odisha with each passing day.

''From winning just one Lok Sabha seat in Odisha in 2014, we won eight in 2019. In the coming days the tally may go up to 16 and then from 16 to 20. We may also win all 21 seats of the state,'' he claimed.

He also lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for installing a statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, a son of the soil, at the India Gate in New Delhi. ''The country was waiting to see Netaji's statue at a prominent place in the capital and the people of Odisha should take note of this historical work,'' he said.

Speculation is rife that that the union ministers' visit will be followed by CBI and ED raids in the state, much like the case in West Bengal and Maharashtra.

Bisheswar Tudu, the Union minister of state for tribal affairs and jal shakti, did not deny or confirm when quizzed by journalists about possible raids.

''Wherever there is corruption, they (agencies) will conduct raids. The central agencies will do their duties notwithstanding the political affiliation of the accused . They may be from the BJP, the BJD or Congress," he said.

The CBI is already investigating a multi-crore-rupees chitfund scam in Odisha. Several BJD leaders were arrested in the past in connection with the case. The ED had in August raided some properties in the state in connection with a money laundering case against a mining company registered in Delhi.

Apart from Rai and Tudu, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ashwini Choubey, Minister of Labour and Employment Bhupender Yadav and Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Nisith Pramanik visited Odisha.

BJP national vice-president Baijayant Panda, when approached, said that Union ministers would be visiting the state every month for two days as part of the party's strategy ahead of the 2024 elections.

''The visits will have a positive impact on BJP's rank and file across the state,'' he added.

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