Bhubaneswar, May 23: Firebrand BJP leader and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath on Thursday said if the 'double engine' government is formed in Odisha, bulldozers will be used against the mafia in the state.

Addressing an election rally at Banapur in the Chilika assembly constituency under the Puri Lok Sabha seat, Yogi said, "Give us strength to form a double engine government in Odisha so that we can clear the path by running bulldozers on 'land, sand, forest and cattle' mafia in the state, as we did in Uttar Pradesh."

ବିଜେପି ସରକାର ଆସିଲେ ସ୍ୱଚ୍ଛ ଓ ଦୁର୍ନୀତି ମୁକ୍ତ ହେବ ଶାସନ। ବିଜେଡିର ମାଫିଆ ରାଜରୁ ମିଳିବ ମୁକ୍ତି । #OdishareHebaBJPSarkar pic.twitter.com/stMayVkD0J
— BJP Odisha (@BJP4Odisha) May 23, 2024

The term "double engine" is used by BJP leaders to refer to the party being in power at the Centre as well as in a state.

The BJP leader targeted Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s close aide and bureaucrat-turned-BJD leader V K Pandian for his “control over” the state government.

“An officer should not be given so much freedom that he starts controlling the government. Only elected public representatives should govern the state, which is the basis of a healthy democracy," he said.

"The BJD government is surrounded by servile coterie and when they surround any government, it gives birth to dictatorship. Then corruption increases, the poor are exploited and the administration collapses. The “officer raj” has “pushed Odisha to 50 years back,” he alleged.

Targeting VK Pandian, Adityanath said, "The Tamil 'babu' will ensure a rise in infiltration and religious conversions. It is the responsibility of the people to ensure that such plans do not materialise."

The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister also accused the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD government of "destroying" the Odia culture.

"The government here is playing around with the Asmita (self-identity) of Odisha. The government here is patronising the killers of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati. The government has crossed the limit of appeasement," he alleged.

Adityanath also took a dig at the BJD government over the missing keys of Ratna Bhandar (treasury) of Shree Jagannath Temple at Puri.

The BJP leader alleged that around 60 crore people from across the country got benefitted due to the Ayushman Bharat Yojana but the BJD government did not want to implement the scheme in Odisha.

Campaigning ended today for the six Lok Sabha seats -- Sambalpur, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Puri, and Bhubaneswar and 42 Assembly segments under their jurisdiction where voting is scheduled for May 25.

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