Nayagarh, May 22: Hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Centre for putting the country on the development plane, Union Home Minister Amit Shah took a swipe at a the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD government in the state, saying that 1.5 lakh posts at government offices were lying vacant under his rule.

Addressing a public meeting at Odisha's Nayagarh on Tuesday, amid the ongoing assembly elections in the state, Shah said, "Modi-ji has done a lot of work for the country. Our party's manifesto states that all women in the state will be provided with a voucher of Rs 50,000 each every two years which they can spend as they wish.

Our manifesto further states that the elderly, widows, and the disabled will get Rs 3,000 per month. The fisher folk will receive direct cash benefit worth Rs 10,000 every year while 1.5 lakh youths will get government jobs. Naveen Babu is not well, which is why 1.5 lakh posts are vacant. He is run by Tamil Babu (a mock reference to the CM's top aide and rumoured political successor, VK Pandian)."

Further accusing the BJD government in the state of looting the Ratna Bhandaar at the iconic Jagannath Temple, the Union Home Minister said, "I wish a pose a direct question to Naveen Patnaik and I want his answer. Where did the keys to the Mahaprabhu's (Lord Jagannath's) 'Ratna Bhandaar' (at Puri's Jagannath temple) disappear? Naveen Patnaik should answer if duplicate keys were made. I can tell you that if the BJP comes to power in Odisha, we will take those, who looted the state of its wealth and resources, to task within the first 100 days of forming the government here. We will bring those, who looted the Ratna Bhandaar, to justice."

In a swipe at the Congress, the BJP's heavyweight campaigner said they sat the Ayodhya title dispute for '70 years' while the Centre, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, took the age-old issue to a logical and legal end, there paving the groundwork for the return of Ram Lalla to his birthplace.

(ANI)

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