Odisha govt remote-controlled by PM Modi: Rahul

Congress president Rahul Gandhi accused the Naveen Patnaik government in Odisha on Wednesday of being "remote-controlled" from Delhi.

Addressing a Congress rally in this steel city in western Odisha, he said the state was hit by the chit fund scam, in which many leaders of the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) were involved, while the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre was stung by the Rafale scandal.

The Odisha government was not operating from the state but was "remote-controlled" by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and it had readily extended its support to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government on measures like demonetisation, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and different issues in Parliament, whenever the prime minister desired, Gandhi said.

Stating that the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), which has a facility in Odisha, had suffered due to the Rafale fighter jets deal, he said the Modi government had deprived the youth of the state of a large number of jobs through it.

"Had the HAL got the opportunity to manufacture the fighter aircraft, a large number of people, including engineers and technicians, would have got jobs," the Congress chief said.

Hitting out at Modi, he said the prime minister had promised to bring back the black money stashed abroad and give Rs 15 lakh to all Indians, but the assurance had remained a hollow one.

The BJP had also failed to honour its promise of generating two crore jobs every year, Gandhi added.