Sambalpur, Mar 7: Union Minister and BJP Lok Sabha candidate from Sambalpur, Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will provide pension to journalists if the party is voted to power in Odisha.

Addressing a press conference here, Pradhan said, "We believe in the motto of 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vishwas'. In accordance with it, we will make a provision of pension for journalists."

"The journalists' accreditation policy will be modified to expand its purview so that individual scribes, working at the subdivision level, are also included," he added.

The Union Minister said there is no democracy in Odisha as the journalists are barred from entering any government offices from the district to state level. He also said that if the BJP government comes to power, restrictions on the entry of media persons in various government offices will be lifted.

Pradhan said that Odisha needs a "double-engine government" and the 'Sankalp Patra' of the state BJP unit focuses on the region's culture, tourism, and overall development.

The Minister said that the BJP has stressed on farmers’ welfare the most in its manifesto, adding that the BJP government will ensure the payment of Rs 3,100 per quintal to the paddy farmers within 48 hours of procurement of paddy from the mandis.

The BJP leader mentioned that women will get a Rs 50,000 cash voucher as a financial gift under the 'Subhadra Jojana'. "They can encash the Rs 50,000 over a period of two years. And 25 lakh women will be made Lakhpati Didis," he said.

Also Read: Pradhan Poses Five Questions To CM Naveen Over 'Poverty And Backwardness' In Resource-Rich Odisha

The BJP promises to fill 1.5 lakh vacant government posts while 65,000 posts will be completed within two years, he added.
"We will implement the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, which the Naveen Patnaik government has been resisting," he said.

Pradhan said all the promises made in the manifesto are a "Modi guarantee".

Simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections will be held in Odisha in four phases, starting May 13. Polling in Sambalpur parliamentary constituency will be held on May 25.

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