Congress’ 10 posers to Odisha Govt on CM Naveen’s Japan visit
Congress launched a scathing attack on Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik during his week-long visit to Japan on Tuesday, alleging that the BJD government has failed miserably in attracting foreign investment.
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Bhubaneswar: Congress launched a scathing attack on Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik during his week-long visit to Japan on Tuesday, alleging that the BJD government has failed miserably in attracting foreign investment.
Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Sarat Pattanayak and senior party leader Bijay Patnaik claimed at a press conference in Bhubaneswar that crores of rupees are spent on foreign tours, but the flow of investment from abroad is abysmally low.
The PCC chief slammed the Naveen government, claiming that despite the Chief Minister's visits to foreign countries, Odisha is lagging behind other states in attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
Bijay Patnaik inquired of the state government how much investment the Chief Minister had brought back from his foreign trips to Rome, Dubai, and now Japan.
According to RTI data, only five foreign investors came to the state between 2016 and 2022, and only Rs 1368 crore was invested during that time, according to Congress leaders.
Both PCC chief and Bijay Patnaik claimed that Rs 20.79 crore was spent for the mega event in 2016, branding the state government's Make In Odisha conclaves as a ruse to dupe people.
Similarly, he stated that Rs 34.51 crore was spent on Make in Odisha in 2018 and inquired as to how many Odias were on the dais during the 2022 conclave.
The government has yet to announce the amount spent in 2022 to host the conclave, according to Bijay, who added that while crores of rupees were spent, no significant investment in Odisha could be seen.
While the government claims to have received nearly Rs 16 lakh crore in investment proposals from both within and outside the country, the exact amount of investment on the ground has yet to be announced, according to the former IAS officer.
As lakhs of Odishans migrate to other states for work, the government's claims about investment and job creation are misleading, according to the former chief secretary.
In response to the remarks of the Congress leaders, senior BJD leader and Khandapada MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik stated that Bijay Patnaik had held important positions in the state government. Bijay Patnaik was both the principal secretary to the Chief Minister and the chief secretary, he said.
As a result, Bijay Patnaik should first explain his achievements during his tenure before raising concerns about the current situation, according to the BJD leader.
