Bhubaneswar, Apr 25: Union Minister and senior BJP Leader Amit Shah on Thursday severely criticized the Naveen Patnaik government for not doing any developmental work despite being in power for 25 years.
"This government has failed to glorify Odia literature, language, culture, and religion. It has failed to provide jobs to people. Despite being rich in mines, minerals, and water resources, Odisha is poor. Youths are going outside in search of jobs," Shah said, ridiculing the BJD government's development claim.
He was addressing a huge election gathering at Rameshwar ground at Sonepur in Odisha today.
Addressing the State as "Mere Odisha", the BJP stalwart said the country has reached new heights of development in the last 10 years of the Narendra Modi government and there is no problem for Odisha to see growth at the country's rate.
"Mere Odisha (My Odisha) is rich in mines and minerals and water resources. It can be made the number one State," Shah pointed out.
He expressed unhappiness that youths are going outside in search of work even though people voted the Biju Janata Dal to power for 25 years.
"If voted to power, the BJP government would establish fisheries college, agro-based industries and textile parks so that no one from this region will go outside to work as a migrant labourer.
Accusing the BJD government of failing to promote Lord Jagannath culture, Shah said, "If the BJP is voted to power, all efforts will be made to promote Lord Jagannath culture far and wide across the globe."
He said the State government here hatched a conspiracy to refrain people from celebrating consecration of Shri Ram Temple on January 22 but people didn't get biased. "People of my Odsiha celebrated Lord Ram's consecration amid full deveotion and serenity," he said.
At the outside, he said he is very happy to have come from Gujarat, the land of Lord Krishna met you in the land of Lord Jagannath. He chanted the names of Lord Jagannath, Chaushati Yogini, Maa Samaleswari, and Maa Pataneswari before addressing the gathering.