Odisha govt disrespecting freedom fighters: Yogi

Bhubaneswar, Feb 20 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said the Odisha government is disrespecting freedom fighters by not providing land for a Paika Rebellion memorial at Barunei proposed by the Central government.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has proposed to set up a memorial to mark the bicentenary of Paika Rebellion. But, the Odisha government did not provide land for this. This shows disrespect by the state government to the freedom fighters," said Adityanath at a BJP workers' meeting in Khurdha.

"We should expose the Naveen Patnaik-led government as to how it is disrespecting the freedom fighters," said the UP Chief Minister.

Paik Rebellion, also known as Paika Bidroha, was an armed rebellion against the British East India Company's rule in Odisha in 1817.

Adityanath also criticised the Naveen Patnaik government for not joining Ayushman Bharat Yojana, not sending the list of farmers to the Centre for implementation of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi and lagging behind in toilet construction.

He alleged that the Chief Minister is not concerned about poor people and their health as the Odisha government has not implemented the Centre's Ayushman Bharat scheme in the state.

Naveen Patnaik government is not interested in the development of the state. He was only keen on promoting his personal agenda while fooling the masses, said Adityanath.

Earlier, at Bhawanipatna in western Odisha, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister called for Odisha's support in the upcoming elections to ensure "double engine" growth with BJP governments in the Centre and the state.

Odisha will face general and assembly elections simultaneously.

"If BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) is given a chance in Odisha, the state will have a high growth rate like UP. BJP government in the state, as well as Modi government at Centre, will ensure double engine growth," said Adityanath.

He was addressing BJP booth-level workers of five Lok Sabha constituencies - Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Koraput, Balangir and Nabarangpur.

Informing that Odisha is going to play a major role in making Narendra Modi the country's Prime Minister again, he asked the party workers to strengthen the booths.

"Like the panchayat elections where the electorate reposed their faith on BJP, we expect the same trust of voters during the 2019 elections," he added.

The UP Chief Minister also criticised the Biju Janata Dal (BJD)-led Odisha government for failing to carry out development and getting mired in corruption.

He said the Odisha government's KALIA (Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation) scheme has no stability and is already into corruption before it was launched while the Centre's Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana is clean and will immensely benefit farmers across the country.

He said the Central scheme would help the small and marginal farmers with Rs 6,000 per annum cash assistance.

"In 19 years of rule, the Odisha government has constructed only 17 lakh pucca houses while the UP government has already provided 20 lakh houses to poor people under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana in only two years of BJP governance," informed Yogi.

He also criticised the state government for trying to hijack the food security scheme.

While the Central government provides subsidy of Rs 29 per kg of rice, the state government gives only Re 1, he informed.

Attacking the Congress, he said the party had sown the seed of appeasement by linking religion with country's resources and terrorism is the outcome of such appeasement.

The BJP is the only party which can give a befitting response to Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, he added.

Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan attacked the BJD government saying that it has failed to provide basic facilities to the people in the last 19 years.

He said the Chief Minister has no knowledge about who actually belongs to the farming community as several MLAs and MPs were found enrolled in the KALIA scheme.