Fight against corruption in BJD govt, Shah tells Odisha BJP leaders

Bhubaneswar: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday held closed-door meetings with BJP leaders in Odisha and urged them to ''expose corruption and irregularities'' in the Naveen Patnaik government, a saffron party functionary said. Shah's appeal to his party leaders came hours after he praised Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, hailing him for becoming the Chief Minister five times in a row.

His message to the BJP leaders also comes days after Naveen’s Biju Janata Dal said it would support the bill replacing the Delhi services ordinance and oppose the no-confidence motion proposed by various Opposition parties against the NDA government at the Centre.

The Home Minister urged BJP leaders in Odisha to strengthen the party's organisation at the booth level and ''expose corruption and irregularities'' in the State government, Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal told reporters here. Shah also advised the party leaders to take up local issues and remain connected with the people to solve their problems, he said.

The BJP leaders in the State were told to fight for the people’s rights, Samal said. Shah also guided them on how to start a movement from panchayat to the State level to eradicate corruption, Samal said.

After attending official programmes with Naveen at Lok Seva Bhavan here, Shah went to the BJP’s State headquarters where he had lunch with the party leaders. Later, he held closed-door meetings with newly appointed office-bearers of the party, MLAs, MPs and members of the State BJP’s core committee. “We were told how to perform better in the next elections and remain close to the people through agitations,” Sundargarh MP Jual Oram said.

Union Minister Bishweswar Tudu, who was present in one of the meetings, said Shah asked the State BJP leaders to fight for tribals and downtrodden people. According to Samal, the Home Minister said the Central government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was committed to the development of the people of Odisha.

He informed the saffron leaders here that the BJP-led government at the Centre has sanctioned Rs 18.83 lakh crore for various projects in the State in the last nine years as compared to just Rs 2.93 lakh crore granted by the previous UPA government in its 10-year rule, said another leader of the BJP's State unit.