Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra: Rahul Gandhi attacks Modi, Patnaik in Odisha

Gandhi said unemployment has assumed alarming proportions in Odisha, forcing three million people to migrate to other states for jobs

Published on: Feb 7, 2024, 16:14:27 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday accused the Narendra Modi-led Union government and chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s administration in Odisha of “running a partnership” to loot the state’s people. He said the Congress was fighting against the partnership.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi offering prayers in Rourkela on Wednesday. (X)

“In Parliament, [Odisha’s ruling] BJD [Biju Janata Dal] supports the BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party]. The BJD people disturb us at the instance of the BJP,” he said on the second day of his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Odisha.

Gandhi said unemployment has assumed alarming proportions in Odisha, forcing three million people to migrate to other states for jobs. “On the other hand, 30 millionaires from outside Odisha have come here to loot the state’s natural resources and assets.”

Gandhi, who earlier offered prayer at a Shiva temple, spoke about countering the hate the BJP and its ideological found Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) were allegedly spreading. He added tribals, Dalits, and backward classes were denied justice. Gandhi said he was in Odisha to listen to the people’s grievances.

There was no immediate response from the BJD and BJP to Gandhi’s comments.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh called the BJD and BJP two sides of the same coin. “Whenever I talk with BJD [Parliament] members, they say that they have instructions from Bhubaneswar to support Modi. In any discussion or during the passage of any bill, the BJD has never criticised the Modi government.”

Ramesh said the SAIL steel plant in Rourkela and the aluminium plants of PSU Nalco in Odisha would be privatised if Modi is re-elected. “During the 1950s and 60s, the public sector built our country. Steel and fertiliser factories were set up, and big dams like the Hirakud dam, oil refineries, and NALCO were constructed along with NTPC. All these units are now under threat as Modi’s vision and policy is to sell them.”

Ramesh said the Congress built the country and Modi is keen on selling it to a handful of industrialists. “If he [Modi] returns to power for the third time, Rourkela and NALCO will be sold off. It is only Congress which will oppose it as BJD and BJP are same.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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