Bhubaneswar: The first phase election is over in Odisha. When the polling is going on in four of the most important Lok Sabha constituencies and 28 Vidhan Sabha constituencies in Odisha, the high-voltage press conference in the main office of the BJP in Bhubaneswar is creating stir all over. The state chairman of the BJP, Manmohan Samal, union minister and prominent leader of BJP Dharmendra Pradhan, BJP national Vice President Baijayant Panda, former union minister and MP Pratap Sarangi, and Aparajita Sarangi were present for the first-ever grand press conference in the 2024 election.
Many important issues were discussed and addressed in this conference. The prominent political faces or leaders in the BJP, in Odisha have brought the narratives of the regional agendas to the forefront. The primary focus point of the press conference is targeting the two major names that are the president of BJD and the chief minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik, the second name is the former bureaucrat and BJD leader V. K Pandyan. This is the first time that the BJP, the opposition party in Odisha has seriously brought this issue.
The press conference was begun by Pratap Sarangi. He spoke on the issue of the Kandhamal riots. The BJD and V.K Pandyan had catapulted the Kandhamal riots issue by indirectly blaming the BJP and the prime minister Modi. This conference was a cross-firing of that, which suggests the facts and truth are the most necessary weapons to claim a charge against anybody instead of only blabbering for the sake of election campaigning and attracting votes. The points Pratap Sarangi has raised are that he held responsible Naveen Patnaik as chief minister and home minister and the father of his member of Rajya Sabha Sasmit Patra for the assassination of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati Mr sarangi bluntly targets Naveen Patnaik by saying swami laxamananda Saraswati would be alive today if chief minister naveen patnaik had done his duty and responsibility with utmost sincerity both as chief minister as a home minister. When the life of Laxmananda Saraswati was under threat, the security personnel were deployed with sticks instead of guns. On the day when laxmanabda was killed, all the security in charge were absent from the place. So the matter was always suspicious of whether it was a planned murder or a coincidence. The BJP accuses the BJD supremo that despite the security systems of the state government, renowned and popular figures like Laxamananda and his assistant were killed in such brutality. At this point, the BJD is suddenly trying to divert the attention of the people from the present ground issues.
Pratap Sarangi questions that there are two reports from the investigating committees of 2015, but Naveen Patnaik is keeping it in hiding, not making the reports public. It certainly indicates the involvement of Naveen Patnaik in the planned mishap. Says BJP.
This press conference is going to be a big jolt for Naveen Patnaik and V.K. Pandyan right after the forts phase of the Odisha assembly election and three more poses are ahead. Aparajita Sarangi in her speech brought the issues like Sri Mandir Parikrama Parakalp, where she attacked BJD by saying the project has been made within a budget of 4, 200 crore whereas the Ram temple at Ayodhya was completed in just 14, 00 crore. The state government has to explain this humongous budget spent from the state fund. Aparajita presses the most sensitive button by questioning the connection of Bhumiputra architectural organisations from south India especially when this organisation has no such experience in handling such projects. Why the parikrama project was given to be constructed by the Bumiputra architects and how it is connected with the BJD government? So the argument directly or indirectly says the parikrama project is nothing but a huge scam of the Naveen-Pandyan government.
The most pertinent point raised is that the chief minister of Odisha is incarcerated by V.K. Pandyan for five years. The major officials like DG police and the chief secretary also cannot meet the chief minister directly in person. The state government has never given clarity about why is the chief minister sealed away from the officials, his MPs, party workers and the common people. Naveen Patnaik does not meet anyone in person, whether the journalists, the party workers, MPs and MLAs of his party.
She questions about the free electricity and the tariff per unit of electricity sold in Odisha is 2. 82 rupees whereas in Chennai it is 2.32 rupees per unit. Why there is a gap of 30 paise in each unit? It should be examined by the state government.
As per the ILO 2024 report, Odisha stands number one of all states in the unemployment and lack of job opportunities for educated young masses. There can not be more failure in a government than this where the educated, qualified youth are not getting the opportunity to earn a livelihood.
Baijayant Panda spoke about the situation of BJD and Naveen Patnaik is extremely pathetic after 2028. The chief minister is kept in a cage and used as a puppet by V.K. Pandyan. This should be clarified in public and the CM jas to be released from the cage. The most serious allegation Mr Panda has brought is that the social media videos of the CM are not authentic but the artificial intelligence does a defect edit to all the video messages before the release. The state ruling party should come out with proper facts and evidence to defend these allegations because the more they will dodge or delay, the deadlier the result will be.
The CM hardly speaks to the media, in public speeches he only says 2-3 lines which are prompted by V.K Panyan. Both Naveen Patnaik and Pandyan are fooling the people of Odisha by showing as if the CM cannot do without a third microphone held by the former bureaucrat, but in reality, he only prompts whatever the CM speaks in his speeches. The CM is unable to remember and speak anything without help. He further says after the year 2018, the propaganda of India vs. non-Ordia and Odia vs. Sanskrit was created because of the poor governance and bad decision-making of Naveen Patnaik and V.K. Pandyan.
Then came Dharmendra Pradhan’s claims, that the WATCO project was a big scam in Odisha. The people of dishware do not get pure water, so there are many waterborne diseases everywhere across the state. There are not enough water facilities in the urban areas and the rural belt is falling short of water. Naveen government is keeping a deaf ear to this.
The whole press conference was focused upon only Naveen Pattbsik and V.K. Pandyan. The culture, language and pride of Odisha us at stake because a non-Odia is making decisions for the state and its people. The five prominent BJP leaders in Odisha have conducted a synchronised, planned press conference by concluding that the BJP is putting its best effort to save Odisha from merging into a condition of deadly famine until 2036.
-OdishaAge
