Puri, May 28 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday promised that the BJP will make Odisha the number one state in the country in 5 years if a double-engine government is established in the state.

Addressing a public rally in Puri, the Union Home Minister said "Wherever there are double engine governments, our beloved PM Narendra Modi has worked on the development of all those states... Let's also establish a double-engine government here... I promise you that in 5 years, we will make Odisha the number one state in the country."

He also said that if the people of Odisha make the BJP win in more than 75 seats in the Odisha Assembly election then the BJP will appoint an Odia-speaking chief minister.

"Odisha's respect, language, culture art should be respected or not?... Is it acceptable that a Tamil Babu runs Odisha from behind Naveen Babu?... A Tamil becomes the CM, is that acceptable?... If it is not acceptable then you have an opportunity to vote for the BJP. Give us more than 75 seats and we will give you a chief minister that can speak Odia," he said.

"After 500 years, Narendra Modi has built the Ram Mandir. The whole country and the entire world were celebrating Ram Utsav. This Tamil gentleman was stopping our Odia brothers from celebrating Ram Utsav," he said.

Further during his address Shah asked the crowd, "Should we vote for those who prevent us from celebrating Ram Utsav, who close the doors of Jagannath, and who lose the keys to the treasure of Jagannath?" The crowd responded with a resounding "no."

Shah further inquired of the crowd, "A Tamil officer (VK Pandian) is dreaming of becoming the Chief Minister of Odisha. This is a matter of respect for Odisha. Tell me from your heart, will the Chief Minister of Odisha be Odia or Tamil?" The crowd responded, "Odia."

The Union Home Minister also said that the report of the judicial commission set up to probe the missing keys of the Shri Jagannath Mahaprabhu Ratna Bhandaar would be made public within 100 days if the BJP comes to power in Odisha.

"The keys to the 'Ratna Bhandar' of Shri Jagannath Mahaprabhu are missing. Should the investigation report be released or not?... All 4 doors of Jagannath Ji are closed. Should they be opened or not? Naveen Babu, I want to ask who has the keys to the 'Ratna Bhandar' of Jagannath... Who made the duplicate keys and who has stopped the investigation report?... The BJP will release the report in 100 days and send the culprits of the 'Ratna Bhandar' to jail," he said.

The matter pertains to the controversy surrounding the missing keys of the Ratna Bhandar of 12th century Jagannath Temple, which are officially "lost" according to the Odisha government.

Jagannath Temple is the most revered temple in the state. The temple's treasury is termed as 'Ratna Bhandar'. According to the rules and practices of the temple; the gold, jewels, and other offerings made by the public to 'Jagannath Mahaprabhu' are stored in this Ratna Bhandar.

In April 2018, officials of the Temple could not find the keys of the Ratna Bhandar, situated near the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, as they proceeded to do an inspection of its structural condition as per an order of the Orissa High Court. Following a hue and cry, Patnaik ordered a judicial inquiry into the matter and the commission submitted a 324-page report in November 2018.

In the seventh and final phase of the Lok Sabha election, polling will take place in the Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, and Jagatsinghpur Lok Sabha constituencies of Odisha on June 1.

The counting of votes will be done collectively across the nation on June 4.

(ANI)

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