BJP-BJD match-fixing evident in Odisha, claims Raj Babbar

Actor-turned Congress leader Raj Babbar Thursday claimed that the BJP and the BJD have entered into "match-fixing" in Odisha, which can ensure another term for the state's ruling party.

In return, the BJD will reciprocate the gesture in the event of a hung-parliament, the Uttar Pradesh Congress president alleged.

"It is evident that there is match-fixing in Odisha. Both the BJP and the BJD are playing a friendly match and pretending animosity. The BJP may need the BJD's support in the post-poll scenario. The two parties are misleading the people," he claimed.

So, whoever wins in the polls, the people of Odisha will lose, the Congress leader said at poll meetings in Kendrapara and Bhadrak Lok Sabha constituencies.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik are cheating the people by denying them basic rights and social justice, Babbar alleged.

Lashing out at Modi, he said during 2014 elections, the BJP had promised to accord special category status to Odisha but the party forgot it after coming to power.

Modi has been visiting Odisha for his rallies and roadshows, but has not done anything for Odisha in the past five years, he claimed.

Slamming the BJD government in Odisha, the Congress leader claimed that atrocities against women, dalits, tribals and weaker sections has risen alarmingly in the state.

The Congress, after coming to power will take concrete steps for creation of job opportunities in the state, he said.

Babbar said the Congress' proposed minimum income guarantee scheme NYAY will go a long way in lifting millions of people out of poverty.