Balasore, May 29: Lambasting the ruling Biju Janata Dal for "betraying" the people in the name of development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Wednesday claimed that Odisha is poor as, after Congress, the BJD has been "looting the state for 25 years."

Urging the people to vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he said, "When the BJP government will be there in Delhi and Odisha, then the pace of development will also be faster."

"You (people) gave 25 years to BJD, but they betrayed you in the name of development... Odisha is poor because earlier, the Congress leaders looted the state, and then for 25 years, BJD has been looting it," PM Modi said.

The PM claimed that the people of the state don't want their votes to be wasted.

"This time, people are thinking that if they cast their vote in favour of the BJD candidate, their vote will be wasted. And now, the people of Odisha don't want their votes to get wasted. People say that they will vote for the one whose government is being formed in Delhi."

Claiming that the BJP is behind most of the work done in the last 10 years, PM Modi said, "Leave the new industries, even the old industries have closed down. For years, roads have not been built, and rail and port connectivity have not been developed. Most of the work that has been done has been done by the BJP in the last 10 years."

He asserted that as soon as Odisha gets a BJP Chief Minister, the focus will be on the work of rejuvenating the beaches. He added,"Odisha me teerth yatra aur samudra paryatan ke har sambhawana ko talasha jayega, aur tarasha bhi jayega."

Prime Minister Modi criticised the BJD for its inefficiency in delivering welfare to fishermen, pointing out that while Odisha has a significant fish market, its infrastructure remains poor.

Highlighting his government's efforts to support fishermen, he said, "Modi for the first time brought up Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana, it is the BJP government that for the first time made a separate ministry for fishermen, we also gave Kisan Credit Card to fishermen, it's the BJP government that increased the insurance of fishermen from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, it's the BJP government that is trying to modernise the boats of fishermen."

Talking about his vision for the next five years, Modi said, "In the next five years, we will work to make the fisheries sector stronger. We will pay extra attention to the export of fish and other seafood. We will promote the agriculture of seaweed and pearls."

Calling Balasore a missile city, PM Modi said, "Our Balasore is missile city. In the last 10 years, the missile power of India has increased a lot. Today, we export BrahMos missiles to foreign nations. Our Chandrayan reached that spot where no one has ever reached. We successfully conducted the G20. We faced the Corona tragedy. Despite that, India progressed to become one of the rising economies. 10 years ago, people thought that it was impossible to stop scams. '10 saal me bina ghotale ki Sarkar Modi ne chale ke dikhai hai.'"

He added further, "... Nobody had thought that peace would come in Jammu & Kashmir. After the wall of Article 370 fell, the people celebrate the festival of democracy there (in J&K), and record pollings are being done... Crore of the Ram Bhakts and even the Karsevaks had given up their hope for the Ram temple in Ayodhya, but today, the wait of 500 years has been ended..."

The PM said, "Whatever I have said right now is just a trailer. In the next five years, there will be development in every sector, the world will see the rise of Atmanirbha Bharat."

PM Modi also talked about the "deteriorating" health of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and claimed that the BJP, after forming the government, will form a special committee that will probe into the health of Odisha CM.

"I am raising a sensitive issue in front of the people of Odisha. And I would like all of you to listen and understand it seriously. This topic is related to the health of Naveen Patnaik. People say that for the past year, the health of Naveen Patnaik has been continuously deteriorating. Those who have been with him (Patnaik) for years say that now Naveen Babu can't do anything by himself. Those people also raise a concern that there might be any conspiracy behind this deterioration in Naveen Babu's health..."

He added, "On June 10, when BJP will form the government, a special committee will investigate the sudden deterioration in Naveen Babu's health and will bring out the truth in front of people of India and Odisha..."

Odisha is seeing simultaneous polls to both the Lok Sabha and the assembly. The assembly and Lok Sabha polls in the BJD-ruled state are being held across four phases, from May 13 to June 1.

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