JAGATSINGHPUR: Even as the ruling BJD and Congress have intensified campaign for the November 3 bypoll to Tirtol Assembly constituency, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday addressed six rallies seeking support for BJP candidate Raj Kishore Behera.
Calling on people to defeat the candidate of an ‘insensitive’ BJD, Pradhan said the Centre has provided financial assistance of Rs 22,267 crore during the Covid-19 pandemic out of which the share of Jagatsinghpur district is Rs 708.32 crore. Similarly, the Centre has also provided Rs 57,767.43 crore to Jagatsinghpur for implementation of different projects.
Assuring the people of the constituency that there will be all-round development of Tirtol under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pradhan urged voters to support the BJP candidate and ensure his victory.
Stating that BJD leaders have become complacent, the Union Minister said there has been no development in the area during the last 20 years.
There are no roads to villages, hospitals do not have doctors, schools are running without teachers and people deprived of safe drinking water. Besides, youths are leaving for other states in search of jobs as the Government has failed to create employment opportunities, he claimed.
“There is a corrupt, inefficient and insensitive Government in Odisha for the last 20 years. People of Tirtol have decided to defeat the representative of such a party in the bypoll,” he said.
Claiming that the Centre has always taken care of people of the district, Pradhan said `120 crore was provided for reconstruction work in Jagatsinghpur after cyclone Amphan brushed past Odisha coast in May, 2020. Similarly, 1.21 lakh beneficiaries have been provided 3.63 lakh LPG cylinders under the Ujjwala scheme.
Listing the projects undertaken by the Centre in the district, the Union Minister said `1,899 crore was spent on the 82-km Paradip-Haridaspur railway line. Similarly, the Paradip oil refinery was set up at a cost of `34,555 crore, he added.Meanwhile, the BJD and Congress have also stepped up campaign in the last leg of electioneering. While BJD has fielded Bijay Shankar Das, son of late MLA Bishnu Charan Das, Congress has nominated a new face Himanshu Bhusan Mallick from the seat.
Centre deploys forces for by-elections
Bhubaneswar: The Centre has deployed three companies of forces each for Balasore Sadar and Tirtol bypolls scheduled on November 3. Besides, Odisha police has engaged 26 platoons in Balasore and 21 in Tirtol to maintain law and order and ensure smooth by-elections. On Friday, DGP Abhay visited Balasore and Jagatsinghpur to review security arrangements for the by-elections.