Bhubaneswar: AICC President Mallikarjuna Kharge, during a public meeting in Phulbani, Odisha for the upcoming general election, criticised the BJP for disrupting communal harmony in Kandhamal district. He accused the party of exploiting the 2007 Kandhamal riots for votes. He also pointed out the tribal area is not yet connected with the railway and Minimum Support Price (MSP) for turmeric is not given.
Kharge blamed both the BJD and BJP for electing a railway minister together who, despite being from Odisha, is serving Modi in Ahmedabad and focusing on running a bullet train in Gujarat instead of connecting Kandhamal district by railway.
He called on Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to take responsibility for bringing railways to districts like Kandhamal, especially after gifting a Rajya Sabha seat to BJP. Kharge highlighted that crimes against tribals have increased by 45 percent in Odisha over the last 10 years, and the PESA act has not been implemented in Odisha in 24 years.
Kharge claimed that 22 lakh tribals are restricted from getting their legal land record. Meanwhile, both Naveen Patnaik and Narendra Modi are taking water, forest and land from tribals and selling them to their friends. In contrast, he said, Congress has always guaranteed water, forest and land to the tribals.
Kharge promised that if Congress comes to power, every youth with a degree and diploma will be given Rs 1 lakh, every woman will get Rs 1 lakh per year and farmers will be given a loan waiver. He also said that the daily wage will be increased from Rs 250 to Rs 400 under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MGNREGA) Scheme. He urged the public to vote for the Congress candidates on the hand symbol.
Following the campaigns of PM Modi and CM Naveen in Phulbani, AICC President Mallikarjuna Kharge held a campaign for Congress candidates on Thursday. Kharge arrived at Gudari Airport via helicopter and was escorted to the coronation ground in a bike rally, where he addressed a public meeting.
The event was attended by several prominent figures. PCC President Sarat Patnaik delivered the welcome speech and District Congress President Chandrasekhar Parida expressed his gratitude. Other attendees included former MP Ramchandra Khuntia, former PCC President Prasad Harichandan, State party in-charge Ajoy Kumar, Deputy CM of Telangana B. Vikramarka Mallu and former Union Minister Bhakt Das.
The rally was also attended by several senior leaders and Congress candidates, including Kandhamal Lok Sabha candidate Amit Chand Naik, Phulbani Assembly seat candidate Pratibha Kanhar, Baliguda candidate Upendra Pradhan, G. Udayagiri candidate Prafulla Pradhan, Boudh candidate Naba Kumar Mishra, Daspalla candidate Nakula Naik, Bhanjanagar candidate Prashant Bisoi and Kantamal candidate Saroj Pradhan. Former MP Radhakanta Digal and former MLA Abhimanyu Behera were also prominently present at the event.
