BHUBANESWAR: The BJP and the BJD reacted sharply to Congress president Rahul’s Gandhi’s allegation of the Centre and state neglecting tribals and that chief minister Naveen Patnaik is being remotely controlled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi Speaking at an event here, Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, “Yuvraj (prince) Rahul can’t understand the plight of poor people because he was born with a silver spoon. Prime Minister Narendra Modi understands that because he himself has suffered poverty in his childhood.”The minister also highlighted former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s infamous remark, “does money grow on trees”, said to a group of MPs from Odisha who had met him to seek a financial package for poverty alleviation in the state 2004 to drive home the point.Dharmendra said people know it well who is remote-controlled by whom from the fact that the BJD MPs supported Congress on its plea for Eurofighter jets instead of Rafale in Parliament.BJD spokesperson Sasmit Patra said it was unfortunate that Rahul came to western Odisha but did not talk about Mahanadi. “The conspiracy hatched by the former BJP government in Chhattisgarh to deprive Odisha of Mahanadi waters is probably being carried forward by the Congress-led government there. Though Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel was present and addressed the gathering, neither he nor Odisha Congress leaders spoke about Mahanadi,” Patra said.On Rahul’s allegation of Naveen being remote-controlled by Modi, Patra said, “BJD has been maintaining an equal distance from the BJP and the Congress. Our only alliance is with the people of Odisha.”

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