Naveen calls UPA `insensitive` to needs of the `Aam Admi`

Dubbing Congress-led UPA government as "insensitive" to needs of `Aam Admi`, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said the Centre`s faulty economic policies have severely hit poor in country.

Bhubaneswar: Dubbing the Congress-led UPA government as "insensitive" to the needs of `Aam Admi`, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday said the Centre`s faulty economic policies have severely hit the poor in the country. "No government in independent India has been so insensitive to the needs of the common man like the present UPA government," Patnaik said during a debate on the Vote of Thanks on the Governor`s Address to the assembly on the beginning of the budget session.

Referring to BJD government`s Rs 1 per kg rice for poor, Patnaik claimed, "It will provide them with a shield against the high inflation rates caused by the faulty policies of the central government...Like UPA government at the Centre, we cannot close our eyes to the bare needs of our poor." Noting that growth rate of the country is going down and prospects in the 12th plan also do not look bright, Patnaik said, "The only thing which is going up in UPA regime is prices of essentials which is pinching the Aam Admi hard." Slamming the UPA government, Patnaik said price of diesel is increasing every month stiffing the farming community who are dependent on diesel pump sets for irrigating crops. "Added to this is the frequent hike in fertiliser prices, this UPA government has inflicted on our farmers," he said. Patnaik claimed the BJD government in the state had been "unflinchingly wedded" to its promises of bringing solace to the poor and the distress in Odisha. "Introduction of Rs 1 per kg rice is one such attempt to help poor," the chief minister claimed. He claimed that the state government has also revised the minimum wages of all categories of workers and social security measures for the benefits of construction workers. He said Odisha was the only state in the country which could brought down poverty by above 20 per cent point. PTI