By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, June 8, 2020: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday claimed that the Narendra Modi government is fully committed for all-round development of Odisha which was woefully neglected during the long tenure of Congress regime at Centre.

Addressing to a virtual rally on the occasion of One year of Modi 2.0 through social broadcasting media from New Delhi, Shah expressed his gratitude to the people of Odisha for reposing their faith in the BJP during the general elections held last year.

He highlighted the achievements of the Narendra Modi government in its first year of the second term and steps taken by the Centre to deal with the Covid-19 crisis.

“No prime minister has done as much for Odisha as Narendra Modi,” Amit Shah said while refraining from attacking the state’s BJD government. The BJD has often supported the NDA government in Parliament during its key legislative items.

The central assistance for the state during first tenure of the Modi government (2014-19) was Rs 2.11 lakh crore as against Rs 79,486 crore during the Congress-led UPA regime.

“The total Central assistance for Odisha in the last 6 years is about Rs 5,52,109 crore which shows the commitment of the Prime Minister for the State,” he added.

During the recent cyclone, which had hit Odisha, PM Modi “risked” his life and stood with the people of the state like a rock, he said.

The Home Minister also gave a detailed account of the central assistance to the state in the first year of the second term. He also hailed Modi government’s schemes like Ayushman Bharat, Swachh Bharat, Ujjwala, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana and PM-KISAN.

Shah admitted some mistakes in the transportation of migrants, but the centre had given priority to migrants during the Covid-19 crisis and he slammed the opposition, asking what did it do for the people during the pandemic.

“I want to ask some people with distorted mindset from the opposition…. We might have lacked somewhere but our commitment was absolute. We might have made mistakes and fallen short to some extent. We might not have done something but what did you do,” he said.

The home minister emphasised that over 1.25 crore migrants were transported safely to their homes by the government’s initiative. The Centre started running Shramik Special trains from May 1 to take migrants home, he said.

Both the Centre and the states have joined hands to fight the pandemic, Amit Shah said adding the Prime Minister’s call for the Janata Curfew and the overwhelming response of the people from across the nation was remarkable.

This has kept the entire nation united in the fight against the Covid pandemic. “When the history of the epidemic is written, the one on Janata Curfew will be written in golden letters. I have never seen such spontaneous and overwhelming response to a public curfew,” he said.

The senior BJP leader said that the Modi government has been fighting against the Covid-19 taking 130 crore people along with it.

“Covid-19 is a global pandemic. PM Modi has also advised for social distancing but it can never be so between the people and the BJP. Led by party President JP Nadda, we are now getting in touch with people via virtual rallies,” he said.

Amit Shah said Congress in 10 years of rule from 2004 to 2014 once waived loans amounting to Rs 60,000 crore of 3.5 crore farmers, but there is no record to prove it. However, the BJP-led government has so far extended assistance of Rs 72,000 crore to 9.5 crore farmers.

Besides, Rs 6000 is being directly credited to the bank accounts of farmers every year under PM-KISAN scheme, he said.

After PM Modi’s pitch to the countrymen to become Aatmanirbhar (self-reliant), the Home Minister appealed to people to take a pledge to use only indigenous products as far as possible and to avoid using imported items.

“I appeal to crores of BJP workers, people of Odisha and the country to take a pledge to use only indigenous products as far as it is possible and to avoid using imported items to make our economy self-reliant,” he said.