Sambalpur, Mar 7: Union Minister and BJP Lok Sabha candidate from Sambalpur, Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday launched a fresh attack against Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, demanding answers to his " five questions" regarding the poverty and backwardness in resource-rich Odisha.

Addressing a press conference, Union Minister Pradhan accused the Chief Minister of being "remote-controlled" by a "Gumasta '' even when he was addressing the election rally.

Pradhan also called upon the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD government for an open debate over why the people in Odisha are poor despite the State having fertile land, mineral resources, long sea coasts, rich culture & heritage and more importantly, 24 years of stable government.

The Union Minister, who was accompanied by BJP MLAs Jayanarayan Mishra and Nauri Nayak, then raised five questions to Chief Minister Patnaik regarding the key issues addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Five questions posed by Union Minister Pradhan are as follows:

1. Why are the students leaving schools in Odisha?
2. Why is there a shortage of teachers in schools of Odisha?
3. Why are there no doctors in the government hospitals in Odisha?
4. Why has the primary health care service in Odisha deteriorated?
5. Why has "Dadan" (migration of workers to outside the state) increased in Odisha?

The Union Minister further slammed the Chief Minister by stating that despite making several promises to the people of Odisha, the BJD government failed to provide them with basic necessities such as drinking water and water for irrigation.

Pradhan's statement came after Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and his close aide VK Pandian on Monday targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remark that "June 4 is the expiry date of the BJD government", saying that "BJP is daydreaming about forming government in Odisha."

Notably, Assembly and Lok Sabha elections will be held simultaneously in Odisha in four phases from May 13 to June 1. The results for both Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha will be declared on June 4.

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