Rahul Gandhi Accuses BJD-BJP Alliance in Odisha, Highlights Unemployment Concerns

Rahul Gandhi attacked the Odisha administration on Wednesday, claiming that the state was being ruled by a BJD-BJP alliance.

Speaking to a crowd at the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Rourkela, Rahul stated: "Naveen Patnaik and Narendra Modi are partnering here." They have teamed together and are collaborating. In Parliament, I have seen it firsthand. Modi turns to the BJD for backing whenever the BJP needs it. We are harassed and 'tang karna shuru karte hai' by the BJD guys. The BJD and the BJP are in a cooperation, and the Congress is opposing this alliance.

On February 3, the prime minister addressed the chief minister of Odisha in his capacity as his mitra while at Sambalpur.

Rahul made the argument that the largest problem in Odisha is unemployment. "Every factory has shut down. Thirty lakh Odishans have left the state to seek work in other states. They get hungry while working there as laborers.

"The Odisha government is dormant, not operating. Thirty billionaires and business magnates have arrived in the state to plunder its riches. This is the status of affairs. Atrocities against Dalits and indigenous people have occurred on occasion. I've come here to hear your complaints and to listen to everyone of you.

Rahul made fun of the BJP and the RSS, saying that they were inciting enmity. I have come to build a store of love in the market of hate, says Main nafrat ki bazar me mohabbat ki dukan Khulne aaya hu.

To greet Rahul, hundreds of ladies lined up along the side of the road wearing colorful saris and waving flags. Rahul broke the security perimeter by greeting and shaking hands with everyone who came close the open red-colored vehicle. A once-in-a-lifetime chance that they were determined not to pass up.

Thousands of Rahul's followers raced alongside the moving vehicle with security guards to make sure they were a part of the Yatra. He stepped out of the vehicle many times, walked through the security perimeter, and spoke with people.

He prayed at the Veda Vyasa temple before giving the speech to the assembly of people. The Mahabharata and the Vedas are said to have been composed by the sage Vyasa, to whom the shrine is dedicated. The temple's principal deity is Shiva.

Jayram Ramesh, a senior Congress politician, compared the BJP and the BJD to the two sides of a coin.

The BJP-RSS doctrine is what the Congress is against. The private sectors eventually become the public sectors. Previous actions were done to divest NTPC and Nalco. The BJD will only be present when the Rourkela Steel mill is sold at the appropriate moment. It won't affect the BJD in any way.

"Whenever I approach the BJD and their members on various issues, they say that they have instructions from Bhubaneswar to support Modiji," Jairam Ramesh stated, implying that the BJD-BJP administration is under the control of the wealthy.

"The BJD abstains from criticizing the Modi government during any discussion or the passage of any bill."

"They are afraid to take up issues like unemployment, crime against tribal people, Dalits, and the poor," he said. Jairam Ramesh also questioned the ED's and CBI's silence on Odisha-related issues.

Kanhaiya Kumar, a congress politician, also drew attention to how the Modi government devastated the educational system. "Just the titles of different programs and schemes have been altered and repackaged to give it a fresh look. The unemployment rate has risen to an all-time high during the last 45 years. At least two young people commit suicide every day, according to Kumar.

The BJD insisted that Rahul's presence would not affect the party, however.