Naveen Patnaik slams Odisha BJP govt, says lack of spending on welfare, infrastructure pushes state toward fiscal deficit, hurting citizens.
Former Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik addresses the media, criticizing the BJP government for lack of expenditure on public welfare and state development (Photo: File)
Bhubaneshwar: Former Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief Naveen Patnaik on Monday slammed the Mohan Charan Majhi government for continued neglect in undertaking essential expenditure for welfare and development of the people of the state saying under the "BJP government is no expenditure being made".
Patnaik, who is also the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly also roasted the BJP government saying that we all know that empty vessels make a good sound, and that's what they are satisfied by.
Speaking to the media, Patnaik said, "Sad to say that there is no expenditure being made by the state government for the people of this state and for their development."
The former Chief Minister said that time and again this has been brought to the attention of Odisha government by BJD that there must be some expenditure for the development of the people of the state.
"But they seem to be totally neglectful about this," the BJD leader said.
He asserted that everyone is suffering.
"It's not exclusive to any people, it is everyone that is suffering. It's like they're playing on empty vessels, and we all know that empty vessels make a good sound, and that's what they're satisfied by," Patnaik added.
The BJD leader earlier in a post on X, had on November 29 said that the supplementary budget placed by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi in the Assembly would push the state towards a fiscal deficit situation.
“The BJP government’s Supplementary Budget presented in the Assembly is dashing the hopes of people. There is no sign of any major infrastructure project or a new vision. This is pushing us towards fiscal austerity. Administrative expenses are being curtailed. Odisha’s debt burden is increasing,” he had said.
He had further stated that the budget had nothing except provision of Rs 900 crore for the Works department and some initiatives for the urban areas of the state.
"It seems this supplementary budget is a ploy to conceal the declining central grants and revenue shortfalls. Not for the welfare of the state's residents, this is an additional effort to mislead the people of the state," Patnaik had said.
Chief Minister Majhi, who also holds the Finance portfolio, had asserted that the Supplementary Budget is primarily designed to meet the funding needs for public welfare and development programmes in the state, mainly by reallocating existing resources and utilising tied grants received from various sources.
