People in favour of ousting BJD government: M Venkaiah Naidu

BHUBANESWAR: Slamming the BJD government in Odisha, senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu today said its performance was dismal and people were in favour of ousting it in view of large scale corruption, industrial slowdown and neglect of the farm sector during its 14-year rule.

"As corruption is rampant in all spheres in Odisha, development has taken a a back seat during Naveen Patnaik's rule. People have lost faith in BJD," Naidu told reporters here during a day-long visit to campaign for BJP candidates.

Describing the performance of BJD as dismal, Naidu said due to the poor track record of "non-performing" Naveen Patnaik government, BJP's popularity graph was gradually rising in Odisha along with other parts of the country amid a clear " Modi wave."

While unemployment was growing alarmingly, a large number of youths were moving out of the state in search of jobs, the former BJP President said. Odisha, he said, was facing acute power crisis despite availability of abundant natural resources, including coal.

Important sectors, like education and health remained neglected due to the inefficiency and inaction of the BJD, while water scarcity was also being experienced by people, Naidu said. Accusing the BJD government of diverting and misusing funds provided by the Centre, Naidu said funds for three lakh Indira Awas units released for Odisha during the NDA government still remained unutilised.

Lashing out at the state government over law and order, the BJP stalwart said the Maoist problem had assumed serious proportions and the authorities were unable to handle it properly. "Under the circumstances, people of Odisha have realised that they have no other option but to get rid of the BJD-rule by voting for BJP," Naidu said.