Bhubaneswar, June 10: Union minister for road and surface transport Nitin Gadkari today accused the Naveen Patnaik government of being "blind to the development of the common man".
"The government has eyes, but it remains blind to the cause of the people. It has ears but fails to listen. It has legs but it is unable to walk. It lacks vision and direction," Gadkari alleged.
While Gadkari targeted the BJD government without naming Naveen Patnaik, the Congress today organised the Dhikkar Divas (Reprimand Day) across the state and staged demonstrations at block levels to highlight the failure of the BJD government as well as the Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Centre.
Gadkari, who refrained from making any comments on the performance of the Naveen Patnaik government at a news conference, came down heavily on the state government while addressing the party workers during the day. "Here the ministers do not know what the officers are doing. Development has taken a backseat. People do not know what is going on. But, the people continue to vote them," he wondered.
The BJD sharply reacted to the Gadkari's comments. "We can do very little if they can not see the development. People are the best judge and they continue to repose their faith in Naveen Patnaik. We don't believe in the BJP brand of development and its propaganda. They had earlier campaigned 'India shinning' (during Atal Behari Vajpayee period) and one saw the results. It may repeat again," said BJD spokesperson Amar Satpathy.
The Union minister, who was here to tell the success stories of the Modi-led government at the Centre, reeled out statistics pertaining the to various ongoing projects ranging from auction of coal mines to the development of inland waterways in the county. Talking about illegal toll gates functioning in Odisha, he said that the state chief secretary had stated clearly that there are no illegal toll gates in the states. As far as the demand that the increase toll fees should not be collected from the passengers is concerned, it will be examined at the highest level. "The bus owners have met me. It is a policy decision and it has be implemented country-wide. We are considering if something can be done about the toll paid by passenger buses. This is not within my ambit. The approval of the Prime Minister's Office and the finance ministry is required," he said.
For the last one month, the state witnessed agitations over the attempt of the tollgate officials to collect fees from the bus passengers. Even the bus owners had threatened to call for a strike. After the intervention, the notification was withdrawn for the time being.
The minister further said: "The government of India is planning investment worth Rs 15 lakh crore for the development of highways. We are funding these through borrowings. In every country, people have to pay toll when they use big highways. If you want good services, you have to pay for it."
