Bhubaneswar, Feb 13: Senior BJP leader and former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday accused Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik of “outsourcing the State government to a handful of officers, which has led to rampant corruption”.

Addressing a public meeting in Jagatsinghpur district, Chouhan said, “CM Naveen Patnaik has outsourced the State government to some officers due to which there is rampant corruption at every level. Patnaik is not running the government, and officers are ruling the state on his behalf."

“As CM Naveen Patnaik does not work himself, people experience a jungle raj under the bureaucratic rule. The state cannot progress till Naveen Patnaik is at the helm,” he added.

The BJP leader alleged that although the BJD government talks about women empowerment, there has been a “rise in atrocities” against women and girls do not feel safe in the state.

Claiming that the Modi government has released Rs 18 lakh crore for the development of Odisha during the last 10 years, Chouhan accused the BJD government of not utilising the funds properly and also “re-branding” central schemes and misleading people.

The former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister asserted that the BJP will form the government in Odisha after the Assembly elections this year.

“We (BJP) will also win a maximum of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha,” he said.

Chouhan also attended a party programme at Cuttack Lok Sabha seat upon his return from Jagatsinghpur.

On Sunday, BJP’s Odisha in-charge Vijaypal Singh Tomar claimed that his party will win at least 80 seats in the 147-member Odisha Assembly and 16 of the state’s 21 Lok Sabha seats.

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