Bhubaneswar, Feb. 17: Preparations are on for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Bargarh on February 21. He is scheduled to address a farmers' convention in the district.
Union home minister Rajnath Singh and BJP president Amit Shah will visit the state on Friday and Saturday respectively. Shah will also attend a rally at Bargarh.
Ahead of Modi's trip to the state, chief minister Naveen Patnaik will visit Balangir and Kalahandi and inaugurate irrigation projects to take the wind out of the BJP's sails. With confusion prevailing over the nature of the programme, the Congress has sought a clarification from the government.
"While in Bhubaneswar, the state government has issued a press release stating that these are chief minister's official programmes, local leaders in Balangir are saying it is a party programme. The government needs to make its stand clear," said Opposition leader Narasingha Mishra, who represents the Balangir Assembly constituency.
Naveen is expected to inaugurate two irrigation projects at Gudvela in Balangir and Kesinga in Kalahandi. Both the programmes are expected to see a huge gathering of farmers.
Senior BJP leaders are camping in Bargarh to make the Modi's meeting a success. This is his second tour to Odisha after his visit to Paradip on February 7 to dedicate the oil refinery.
The BJP is trying to build up on the success of Modi's Paradip visit even though it was marred by clashes between leaders of the BJP and the BJD. The BJP is also keen to win over the sympathy of the farmers' community since nearly 150 of them have committed suicide in the past four months.
Ahead of Modi's visit to the state, Singh will visit the state on Friday and meet Naveen at the state secretariat. During his one-day tour, he will visit the Maoist-hit Koraput and Malkangiri districts.
Sources said the state government was likely to raise the issue of the Union government's reduction in central assistance to the state to meet the needs of the drought-affected areas. The state had sought financial assistance of Rs 815 crore on January 6 to combat the drought situation, but the Centre has curtailed it to around Rs 214 crore.
