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Rahul flays State on job scheme

BHAWANIPATNA: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday took a dig at the Naveen Patnaik government saying that the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme was not being implemented properly in Orissa.

Addressing a rally organised under the banner of the youth wing of the Congress here, Mr. Gandhi said the United Progressive Alliance Government had introduced the scheme to provide work to the people across the country, but it was not working well in the State.

Stating that it was now the duty of the government to provide 100 days of work for those seeking employment, Mr. Gandhi called upon the people seeking employment to demand for 100 days of work from the government.

The rally virtually turned out to be meeting to attack the Biju Janata Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party government in the State, and oppose the proposed mining of bauxite ore at Niyamgiri hills for the upcoming alumina refinery of Vedanta Alumina Limited at Lanjigarh.

Addressing the gathering, Pradesh Congress Committee president Jayadev Jena blamed the State government for playing to the tunes of industrialists by sacrificing the interests of tribals and farmers on Kalahandi.

The Naveen Patnaik government had helped a company in getting a loan waiver of over Rs. 2000 crores, but it had not bothered to give any concessions to farmers, Mr. Jena alleged. The Centre’s proposal to waive agricultural loans would help 25 lakh farmers in the State, he pointed out.

Former Union Minister and party leader Bhakta Charan Das sought Mr. Gandhi’s help in saving Kalahandi district from a ‘possible disaster’ in the wake of the mindless industrialisation that the BJD-BJP government was pursuing in the region. He urged Mr. Gandhi to come to the rescue of the people of the region by taking up their problems. Mr. Das has been spearheading an agitation against the proposed mining at Niyamgiri hills.

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