Pradhan counters Naveen

Bhubaneswar: Responding to BJD chief Naveen Patnaik’s claims, Union min-ister Dharmendra Pradhan said the BJP was working hard for the State’s de-velopment. “Naveen Babu was in power for 24 years, but people of his native district could not get enough drinking water. There are taps, but no water. What can we say about this?” Pradhan asked.

Referring to women empowerment, Pradhan said, “In Ganjam district alone, the State government has so far disbursed about Rs 500 crore for women un-der Subhadra scheme. There are about 10 lakh beneficiaries in the district,” he said.

Pradhan said the State government is providing Rs 3,100 per quintal of paddy as the Minimum Support Price (MSP). “If anyone considers this a lie, what can be said? It is often said that one should not respond to influential indi-viduals,” Pradhan remarked.