BHUBANESWAR: Opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Congress on Tuesday described the union budget for 2024-25 as ‘anti-Odisha’ claiming that the Centre has ignored genuine concerns of the state.The ruling BJP, on the other hand, termed the budget proposals as ‘growth-oriented’ and it would help generate employment.BJD vice-president and MLA Prasanna Acharya alleged that the Centre has ignored Odisha’s genuine concerns by announcing that the Polavaram irrigation project in Andhra Pradesh will be completed.It is suspected that the Polavaram irrigation project will inundate a large chunk of land in the tribal-dominated Malkangiri district of Odisha.”The decision is discriminatory. It shows the government’s bias towards Andhra Pradesh since the state is being ruled by a key ally of BJP. The BJP depends on it for the numbers in Parliament,” Acharya said, referring to the Telugu Desam Party (TDP).Stating that BJD president Naveen Patnaik had consistently been raising the Polavaram issue with the Centre, Acharya said adding that the project is likely to submerge eight villages in Odisha.”This is not a good sign for democracy as the government is putting politics over the nation,” he added.Senior BJP leader and Odisha Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida welcomed the provisions of the Budget presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.Parida said the announcements made by Sitharaman will play a significant role not only in boosting Odisha’s tourism but also in the state’s economic growth.”I thank the finance minister and the Centre for the announcements made for Odisha to further promote and develop this sector. We want to make Odisha one of the top three states in the country, and the tourism sector is already contributing towards this,” she said.
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