Odisha governor Raghubar Das showered praise on the Odisha government for its various developmental projects, including the Puri Shreemandira Parikrama Prakalp (Heritage Corridor Project), while addressing the legislators on the opening day of the interim budget session of the Odisha Assembly on Monday.

This is the last session of the Odisha Assembly before the state goes to poll. However, the Congress raised objections to the governor’s speech which lasted for one hour and 58 minutes. Later they staged a walk-out.

Addressing the members of the Odisha Assembly, the governor said: “The government has prioritised the renovation, and redevelopment of religious sites to protect and preserve the cultural identity of the state. The state government has launched the Shree Jagannath Express Bus Service from all 30 districts to provide facilities to devotees for visiting the Shree Jagannath Temple. After the inauguration of the Puri Parikrama project, the government dedicated the MaaSamaleswari Project to the state's people.”

The governor also hailed the Odisha government for organising the first-ever World Odia Language Conference in Bhubaneswar and also appreciated the Odisha government’s move to construct a newly built campus of Odia University at Satyabadi in Puri. Stating that ten towns and cities in Odisha have already been made slum-free, Das said: “All urban areas will become slum-free by the end of this year.”

Describing Odisha as a pioneer state in the field of millet production, Das maintained Odisha had a surplus in food production and said how the food production had gone up almost two-and-a-half times compared to 2000-2001. He also lauded the Ama Odisha Nabin Odisha scheme under which infrastructure development projects were being carried out and also hailed the Nua-O programmes that aimed at empowering the youth and undertaking social and cultural development programmes. He also patted the back of the government to rein in the Maoists' activities.

However, the Congress raised objections to the governor’s speech. Congress Legislature party (CLP) leader Narasingha Mishra said: “The state government used the governor to heap praises on its governance and pat its own back. In earlier days, the Kings used to appoint Bhata (people who sang paeans to the King). Similarly, the governor here praised the government."

Mishra said: “The information presented by the governor lacks the true picture. There has been no information on the programmes to be taken up by the government in future.”

He also accused the government of failing to rein in crime against women. “The governor’s speech also lacked information about the steps taken to curb unemployment,” Mishra alleged.

The BJP also accused the government of presenting a rosy picture of the development of the state. However, the BJD refuted these allegations. “People have witnessed the development. The governor’s speech was a reflection of that only,” said BJD MLA Prasanta Kumar Muduli.