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Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the BJD-led government in Odisha and said that Chief Minister Navin Patnaik is forcing 'Babu Shahi' on Odisha, and hurting the dignity of the Odia people.
Addressing a public rally in Sambalpur, Shah said, "The BJD government is destroying the state of Odisha. Naveen Babu is forcing 'Babu Shahi' on Odisha and hurting the Odia people's dignity. Naveen Babu is 'strangulating' the culture and pride of Odisha." He said that Odisha has a lot of mineral wealth and hardworking youth but lacks a hard-working Chief Minister. "Odisha is a very beautiful place, it has a long coastline, a lot of mineral wealth, and hardworking youth but the only thing missing is a hard-working Chief Minister. Form the BJP government, we will give a hard-working young CM," the Home Minister said. "Ironically, Odisha is amongst the most prosperous states of Bharat, and it's here only that those amongst the poorest reside! Naveen Babu is leaving no stone unturned to loot and destroy this mineral resource-rich Utkal Bhoomi," he added. Hitting out at the Odisha government, Shah said, "The BJD government is destroying the culture and tradition of Shri Jagannath temple in the name of tourism. It wants to turn this Shri Kshetra into a commercial centre." Exuding confidence in winning the Lok Sabha, the Home Minister said that after the conclusion of the fifth phase of the polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has crossed 310 seats. "This time lotus will bloom in both Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Odisha. After 5 phases, Modi ji has crossed 310 seats. You have to make the lotus blossom here by getting more than 75 seats in the assembly elections," he said. Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan is the BJP's candidate for the Sambalpur Lok Sabha constituency and Pranab Prakash Das has been pitted by the BJD. The assembly and Lok Sabha polls in the BJD-ruled state are being held across four phases--from May 13 to June 1. The counting of votes will be held on June 4. In the last assembly elections in 2019, the BJD won 112 out of 146 seats. BJP won 23 seats and Congress got nine seats. In the Lok Sabha elections, the BJD mopped up the lion's share of the electoral spoils, with the BJP and the Congress bringing up the rear. The BJD won 12 seats, the BJP finished a close second at 8, and the Congress bagged just a lone seat. (ANI)
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