PM has conquered hearts of poor, in India and abroad: Pradhan

Hailing the NDA government at the Centre as a champion of the downtrodden, BJP leader and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan today said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has conquered the hearts of the poor people in India as well as abroad.
"Narendra Modi has won the hearts of the poor people not only in India but also in foreign countries... Modiji rules their hearts," the Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister said at a membership assembly function at Odisha state BJP headquarter here.
Describing the BJP-led government as poor people's, Pradhan said as many as seven crore people in the country have now been able to open bank accounts through the novel 'JanDhan' programme launched by the Centre.

Similarly, arrangements have been made for refund of around Rs 27,000 crore provident fund deposits of poor people in the country, he said.
Maintaining that Modi's leadership has given a boost to India's image abroad, Pradhan claimed the country has stirred a new ray of hope in the international arena too.
Turning to Odisha, the BJP leader claimed the party would be able to form a government in the state by winning the next Assembly elections with people's support and cooperation which was steadily increasing.

Hitting out at the BJD government in the state over the multi-crore chitfund scam, Pradhan said the state government had opposed a CBI probe into the ponzi scam saying it was not needed as state agencies were inquiring into the matter.

The state government now stands exposed with the arrest of several BJD leaders by the CBI which is probing the scam, he said.
Though the Centre had warned the state government against entering into any tie-up with a chitfund company, the BJD regime ignored the warning, Pradhan said.
Speaking on the occasion, BJP's state in-charge Arun Singh claimed the party's popularity was growing in Odisha and it would capture power in next Assembly polls by an overwhelming majority.
BJP claimed in a statement that several leaders of BJD, Congress and AAP joined the party along with their supporters at the function.