Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday said Odisha needs a government which can partner with the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.

Speaking to mediapersons here, Jaishankar said Odisha needs good governance, corruption-free government to properly utilise the State’s vast and rich resources. Despite huge and rich mineral resources, Odisha is lagging in many sectors of development, he said.

The resource utilisation in the State needs good governance, employment-friendly and corruption-free government, Jaishankar said and hoped that the people of Odisha would vote for BJP to carry forward the developmental agenda of Modi.

He claimed that Odisha occupies a special focus in Prime Minister Modi’s development plan and said during the last ten years the Modi government has provided Rs.18 lakh crore of Central funds to the State.

In Awas Yojana 2.7 lakh beneficiaries in the State have been provided with pucca houses while 53 lakh women have benefited under the Ujjala scheme and Rs 54,000 crore has been provided for the Sagarmala project in Odisha, Jaishankar said.

He said Modi has great respect for Odisha’s culture, heritage and tradition which has been recognised in the entire world. The replica of the Konark Wheel displayed at the G20 summit has proved how much Modi loved the culture and tradition of Odisha, he noted.

Narendra Modi, he said, has taken immediate steps to evacuate Odia people stranded in the war-torn Ukraine, Israel, and Sudan.

“We hope that the people of Odisha will vote for Modi at the Centre and also form the BJP government in the State as Odisha needs a BJP government to carry forward Modi’s development agenda,” the Union Minister said.