AICC member Jagdish Tytler (2nd from left), along with other party members Mirza Irshad Baig, Vinay Sorke and state Congress leaders KP Singh Deo, Giridhar Gamang and Lalatendu Bidyadhar Mohapatra at a party meet in Congress Bhavan on Thursday. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, March 17: All India Congress Committee (AICC) member in-charge of Orissa Jagdish Tytler today said the Centre had given “three-times more assistance to Orissa compared to the NDA-led government” of which the BJD was a partner.

Tytler said: “All allegations against the Centre for neglecting the cause of Orissa are baseless. The state has to answer as to how it had spent the money released under the Calamity Relief Fund (CRF).”

For the last two years, the BJD has been spearheading a campaign against the Centre for its “step-motherly” attitude towards Orissa.

Challenging the Orissa government’s claim that it has done a lot for people’s welfare, Tytler said: “I want to know from the chief minister if his government has made 100km of roads from the state’s fund in the last two to three years. How come the posts of 80,000 school teachers are lying vacant in the state?”

Stating that the Congress would initiate steps to make people aware of the centrally sponsored schemes, he said: “People must know that the Centre subsidises Rs 11 per kg of rice for the BPL families while the state’s contribution is Rs 2.

The BJD’s downfall started after it had sold the land of Lord Jagannath to a dubious company headed by Vedanta chief Anil Agarwal,” he said.

Lashing out at the BJD for its alleged involvement on various corruption charges, Tytler said: “The Congress MLAs have been raising the issue. However, the party, as a whole, should be involved. I will make Orissa my second home and not take rest until the BJD is thrown out of power.”

Tytler said: “I was told that the whole political system had been influenced by some mining mafias. Probably some of our party members, too, have been influenced by them. I will find it out and soon get rid of it.”

Tytler said: “Time has come for the Congress to directly interact with the common people. Workers have to reach the villages and aware people of the 19 centrally-sponsored schemes for the people of Orissa.”

He further said names of the block president would be announced within five to six days. All the 30 districts will be divided into three groups. While Tytler was scheduled to visit 10 districts of the coastal belt, two central observers would tour to the other 20 districts.

Bhubaneswar, March 16: The All India Congress Committee (AICC) member in-charge of Orissa Jagdish Tytler today claimed that the UPA-led Centre had given 'three-times more assistance to the State compared to the NDA-led government of which the ruling Biju Janata Dal was a partner.

Tytler said, “all allegations against the Centre for neglecting the cause of Orissa is baseless. The State has to answer how it has spent the money released under the Calamity Relief Fund (CRF).” For last two-years, the ruling BJD is spearheading a campaign against the Congress-led Centre for its “ step-motherly” attitude towards the State.

Challenging the State government’s claim that it has done a lot of thing for the welfare of the people, Tytler said, “I just want to know from the Chief Minister if his government has made 100-km of roads from the State’s fund in the last two to three years. How come the posts of 80,000 school teachers are lying vacant in the state?” he asked.

Stating that Congress would initiate steps to make people aware of the centrally-sponsored schemes, he said the people must know that the Central Government subsidises Rs 11 per kg of rice that is given to BPL families. The state's contribution is only Rs 2. The BJD’s downfall had started after it sold the land of Lord Jagannath to a dubious company headed by Vedanta chief Anil Agarwal,” he quipped.

Lashing out at the Naveen Patnaik government for its alleged involvement on various corruption-charges, Tytler said, “ the congress MLAs have been raising the issue. But the party as a whole should be involved. I will make Orissa my second home and will not take rest untill the BJD Government is thrown out of power.”

Tytler said, “ I was told that the whole political system has been influenced by the mining mafia. Probably some of our party members have been influenced by the influential mining mafias. I will find it out and will soon get rid of it.”

Tytler said “time has come for the Congress to directly interact with the common man. Workers have to go to the village level and aware the People what the Centre has given to the people of Orissa through its 19 centrally-sponsored schemes.”

He further said that the names of the block president would be announced within five to six days. As a part of the new progarmme, all the thirty districts will be divided into three groups. While Tytler will visit 10 districts of the coastal belt, the other 20 districts will be toured by other two central observers.