Eyewash to hoodwink people: Congress slams BJD govt over Rs 17k-cr relief package

The opposition Congress in Odisha hit out at the BJD government on Sunday, saying the announcement of the Rs 17,000-crore livelihood package to create jobs for the poor and migrant workers amid the lockdown was simply an "eyewash to hoodwink people". State Congress president Niranjan Patnaik alleged that details of the package have already been revealed by a senior official a day before it was approved in the meeting of the Council of Ministers and the State Cabinet on May 29.

"What was the need to convene the meeting of the Council of Ministers and Cabinet if the decision had already been taken... who is running the government, the council of ministers or the bureaucrats?" Patnaik wondered.

Dubbing the Special Livelihood Intervention Plan as unrealistic, Patnaik told reporters that the state government should convene a special session of the Assembly to discuss details of the package and the mode of expenditure. The package announced by the state government appears to be a "fairytale". If the government fails to address the plight of migrant workers properly, the state will face a grave crisis in the days ahead, the Congress leader said.

"The package announced by the government is nothing but an eyewash to hoodwink people. It is a ploy to mislead people and divert their attention from the government's failure to mitigate the plight of the poor and migrant workers during the lockdown," Patnaik said.

The plan was announced in the same way as the Centre announced its Rs 20 lakh crore package, he said, adding, "Instead of taking concrete steps to revive the economy which has collapsed, the government is trying to betray people." Coming down heavily on the Naveen Patnaik government over treatment of coronavirus patients, the Congress leader sought to know as to why the patients were going to Bhubaneswar and Cuttack when the state government claimed to have set up special COVID-19 hospitals in all districts.

However, the BJD's Rajya Sabha member Subash Singh said migrant workers will be benefited as the state government will provide them with employment and cash. The migrants will get employment in several sectors including agriculture, pisciculture and animal resources and the measures will also help to revive the states economy, he said.