Union Ministers slam Naveen Patnaik govt. for non-progress of key projects

Amid a bitter contest over crucial Padmapur byelection, BJP and ruling BJD indulge in war of words

With both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Biju Janata Dal locked in a bitter contest over the crucial Padmapur by-election, two Union Ministers on Sunday lobbed the ball in the Naveen Patnaik government’s court for non-progress of key developmental projects and non-payment of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bhima Yojana (PMFBY) payouts.

As the campaign for bypoll entered the last phase, two Union Ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and Ashwini Vaishnaw took the train from Raipur, capital of Chhattishgarh to Khariar Road in Odisha and attempted to debunk barrage of allegations by the ruling BJD here.

Mr. Vaishnaw fired the first salvo at the BJD. “Odisha Commerce and Transport Minister Tukuni Sahu wrote stating that the Centre had not taken any step for laying of new railway line between Nuapada and Bargarh via Paikmal and Padmapur. Prasanna Acharya, senior BJD leader, repeated the allegation. How can they tell such lie? The Narendra Modi government had sanctioned new railway line. I challenge them to make land for new railway line available today, the work will commence day after tomorrow.”

“The new railway line between Nuapada and Bargarh is right of people. This cannot be taken away by anyone. Mr. Modi is committed to fulfilling his promise for Odisha. All railway projects had been lagging behind schedule are making progress due to the effort of the Prime Minister. During the Congress regime, only ₹800 crore was being given to Odisha in railway sector. The railway allocation for the State had touched astronomical ₹10,000 crore this year,” he pointed out.

For improvement of mobile connectivity, the Modi government had provided ₹5,600 crore, said Mr. Vaishnaw. “Had the Centre received cooperation from the Odisha government, one would not imagine the speed of development in the State,” the BJP MP from Odisha said.

“Bhawanipatna-Nabarangpur, Nabarangpur-Jeypore, Jeypore-Koraput, Koraput-Malkangiri and Malkangiri to Bhadrachalam railway lines which were pending for years are being materialised by Mr. Modi. Why can the new railway line be laid between Nuapada and Padmapur? It would have been materialised had the State government made land available for the project,” said the Union Railway Minister.

Similarly, Mr. Tomar said it was the responsibility of the State government to identify insurance company under the PMFBY, survey the extent of damage during natural disasters and file claim with insurance company. Our job is to pay Central share for insurance payment before time. As far as non-payment of crop insurance is concerned, the Central share has already paid to the State government.”