ROURKELA, FEB 10: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Thursday promised punar nirman (reconstruction) of an Orissa which would emerge stronger and self-reliant. He also laid to rest the controversy over the chief ministership, declaring that if voted to power, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik would fulfill the dreams ``Biju babu had for Orissa''.Addressing an election rally on Thursday at Nehru Maidan here, Vajpayee thanked the people of Orissa for helping the NDA form the Government at the Centre and stressed the need for such a Government in the state as well. He said the Centre should be able to interact with the people at the grass-roots for effective development and urged the gathering to vote for the BJP-BJD combine. ``You have changed the kurta, but the phata purana pajama also needs to be changed,'' he added.The PM dedicated a major part of his speech to the development of the state and the financial assistance given to it after the super cyclone. He gave out details of funds allocated for various sectors and lamented that despite being rich in potential, Orissa lagged behind in development.However, he said if elected to power, the BJP-BJD combine would work towards the creation of a `new Orissa' with employment for all. He also promised to end child labour, migration of labour, starvation deaths, inequality, epidemics and provide education to all. He also spoke about women's uplift and praised the people of the cyclone-affected areas for getting their act together.Reiterating that the NDA was not after satta (power), he said the alliance would change the picture of the country and sought people's cooperation in achieving the goal. The PM who began by wishing the gathering in Oriya was flanked by Union Ministers Naveen Patnaik, Juel Oram and Dilip Ray.
