World Bank report on Orissa self-contradictory: Cong

Bhubaneswar, May 25 (UNI) Opposition leader J B Patnaik today criticised the World Bank for giving an "exaggerated and self- contradictory" report on the economic growth of the state.

The former chief minister and Congress Party leader alleged that the state government, with the help of an NGO, had organised the press conference, in view of the coming elections to get "cheap publicity and mislead the people".

He said that it was demeaning for an international body like the World Bank to give such a report without supporting documents and warned that it would prove costly for the government.

The Congress leader said that the World Bank had never ever held a press conference to convey its findings. ''But the state government had sponsored press conference keeping in mind the coming elections.

Mr Patnaik said he would soon write about it to the World Bank and take the issue to the masses to expose the shallow claims of the government.

The Congress leader said the World Bank had, in a press conference held recently, claimed that the state had achieved an economic growth of ten per cent, the highest in the country during the eight-year rule of Naveen Patnaik government.

''But the socio-economic survey conducted by the state government said the state achieved an economic growth of only 5.96 per cent from 2000 - 2007,'' he noted.

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