Jajpur (Odisha) (PTI): Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan came down heavily on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, alleging he "defames India abroad".

On the sidelines of a function in Odisha's Jajpur district, the senior BJP leader from the state on Wednesday alleged that Gandhi is showing "mental bankruptcy and is unable to digest India's development".

"He maintains a pro-China stance and defames India abroad," Pradhan claimed.

Speaking at the Surakhya Bandhan Utsav in Sukinda area in the district, Pradhan, the Union Minister for Education, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, said that there is no shortage of funds from the Centre but beneficiaries are being deprived of various schemes because of the "inefficient and corrupt" BJD government in the state.

He claimed Odisha had received only Rs 3 lakh crore from the Centre during the 10 years of UPA rule but the state received Rs 18 lakh crore from the BJP-led Union government in the last nine years.

Pradhan said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a big gift to mothers and sisters by reducing LPG prices by Rs 200 per cylinder.

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New Delhi: The investigation team that probed the explosion that took place outside the CRPF School in the Prashant Vihar area of the city on October 20 morning has reportedly not found any terror force behind the blast.

The investigation team, consisting of Delhi Police and staff members from central agencies, has stated in its report that cigarette butts thrown by a local resident might have come in contact with industrial waste and have caused the explosion. Circumstantial evidence does not show the incident to have a terror angle to it, reports The Indian Express.

The Delhi Police, the city bomb squad and the fire brigade had rushed to the spot following the explosion, which was initially believed to have been caused by a crude bomb. The forensic experts who inspected the spot hinted at the presence of potassium chlorate, hydrogen peroxide and some electrical wires there. The school wall had been damaged and the windows of a car nearby had shattered in the explosion.

The investigation team scanned the CCTV camera footage and zeroed in on around 10 people questioned. A senior police officer said that a North Delhi-based businessman from Prashant Vihar was found to be present at the spot around five minutes before the explosion, as he had come there on Sunday morning to walk his dog. The CCTV footage showed him smoking and, after questioning him, the team concluded that he had left lit cigarette butts before leaving the spot, the officer added.

The spot where the explosion took place is learned to have been usually used for dumping garbage and also has a public urinal.

An officer has said that the Delhi Police had consulted forensic and technical experts of the National Security Guard regarding the things found on the explosion site but are yet to get the report. The officer added that they have found no detonator so far.