Odisha: Rajnath exhorts workers to work 13 hrs a day, claims BJP will form next govt

By Mahendra Darjee

Bhubaneswar, Feb. 22: Senior BJP leader and Union defence minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday asserted that his party would form the next government in Odisha, claiming that there was a strong wave in favour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the state for all the development works undertaken by him since 2014.

He exhorted the party workers to work for 12 hours to realize the Odisha dream.

Addressing the party leaders and workers at Nabarangpur, Berhampur and Baripada, Singh said the party stood to make significant gains in the Lok Sabha and assembly polls as the cadres and leaders were upbeat after the recent electoral success in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

“The BJP always believes in work. It walks the talk. Nobody ever thought that Article 370 will be abrogated. However, this controversial article 370 was removed as per the constitutional provision and process.  Muslim women who suffered due to the Triple Talaq system, got relieved from it after Prime Minister Narendra Modi ensured that it was declared an act of injustice,” he said.

He further said, “We have fulfilled almost all our promises made in the election manifesto. People were asking us – When are you going to build Ram Temple? We have not only built the temple but also the Pran Pratistha ceremony of Ram Lalla has already been done in the temple on January 22 this year. We are in politics not to cling on to power, but to serve the nation. Congress has cheated the people of the country for a long time. Modi has freed 25 crore people from poverty after coming to power. The Centre has provided toilets for 11 crore people, and pucca houses for 4 crore people. Thirty lakh people in Odisha have got pucca houses,” Singh said.

Stating that the Congress government in Odisha was just laying foundation stones, Singh said PM Modi completed all the projects initiated during his regime.

“Our government has never discriminated against Odisha. Medical colleges and engineering colleges have increased here. The sole objective of our Prime Minister is to serve the people. In the last nine years Odisha has got Rs 18 lakh crore from the Modi government when it had received only Rs 3 lakh during the previous nine years rule of the Congress-led UPA government,” Singh added.