Bhubaneswar, Apr 23 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday launched a direct attack on Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, saying that his exit was certain and that a handful of officers will not save him.
"I want to tell Naveen 'babu' that you are going and it is certain. A handful of officials cannot save you," the Prime Minister said while addressing an election rally in Barua under the Kendrapara Lok Sabha constituency.
It was for the first time that Modi directly attacked Naveen Patnaik during electioneering in the state. Monday was also the last day that the Prime Minister was campaigning in Odisha.
"In the first and second phase of polls, I was respectful of the political decorum and refrained from making any personal attack on Naveen 'babu' because he has served Odisha for long and deserved a respectable farewell.
"But the way Naveen 'babu' took the shelter of violence like Bengal in the past 10 to 12 days, I want to say today, 'Naveen babu aap jaa rahe ho, apka jaana tair hai' (you (Patnaik) are going and your exit is certain)," said the Prime Minister.
Modi further said that poll-related violence has peaked in the state and the officials were turning a blind eye to it.
The Prime Minister said that people were ready to bid Naveen Patnaik adieu with anger.
"It's confirmed that in Odisha, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) will go and the BJP will come to power after the polls," said Modi.
He said the BJD can't stop the double engine in the state with all its power.
Claiming that workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were being attacked in the state, he called upon the party workers and the voters to stand firmly.
The Prime Minister said not a single corruption charge has surfaced against the Central government in the last 5 years while those who levelled false allegations were now in the dock.
Modi also criticised the state government for not providing the list of farmers to be benefited under the PM Kisan Yojana and for not implementing the Ayushman Bharat Yojana in the state.
He assured the people that the health scheme would be implemented in Odisha once the the BJP formed the government in the state after the elections.