Rahul: enough funds, but no delivery system in Orissa

Launching a frontal attack on the BJP-BJD Government in Orissa, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Sunday asked the people of the state to “throw away...

Launching a frontal attack on the BJP-BJD Government in Orissa, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Sunday asked the people of the state to “throw away” the regime as it had failed to deliver.

“A Government which cannot deliver has no right to stay in power,” he said addressing a rally here. Gandhi, who is on a four-day tour of the state, said there was a time when the country was considered to be poor and there were no funds for development. But today there are enough funds but no proper delivery system, he said adding, “if the state Government cannot deliver, it is time for you to throw it away from the seat of power”.

Dubbing the Naveen Patnaik Government a “failure”, he alleged that Central funds were being returned unutilised and schemes from Delhi had been left unimplemented. The Gandhi family scion said, “In Orissa I could not find a single place where NREGA is implemented properly.” He said he was enraged by the fact that with so much money coming from the Centre, there were still places which lacked schools, college and other basic amenities. “There cannot be a nation divided. One which is fast developing and the other lacking in basic needs,” he observed.

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The farmers do not need to thank the Government for the waiver package. Instead the Government should thank farmers as they work hard to feed the country, he said.

Exhorting the youth to join politics, he said, “It is time for you, especially the youth, to bridge the gap between the two Indias.” Gandhi claimed that the four-year rule of the UPA Government had “strived to bridge the gap” between the rich and the poor.