Nimapara: Launching a scathing attack on Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for ‘disrespecting’ his Odisha counterpart, BJD leader and party supremo Naveen Patnaik’s close confidant VK Pandian asked Sarma to learn the cultural ethos of Odisha, especially when he is a guest in the state, and desist from making any disparaging comments about Patnaik during his election speeches.
Addressing an election meeting at Nimapara, Pandian said several big leaders are coming to the state from outside and have been disrespecting the CM with their rude utterances. Pandian reminded the Assam CM that Naveen was a minister in Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Cabinet. “Naveen babu worked with the guru (Vajpayee) of your guru (Narendra Modi). He was a Cabinet minister in PM Vajpayee’s Cabinet. Since Assam CM is a guest in Odisha, I will not tell him much. But I will pray Mahaprabhu (Lord Jagannath) to inculcate in him the right values so that he knows how to speak about a popular CM,” Pandian said.
Pandian, BJD’s chief election strategist, also asserted that Opposition parties are resorting to violence to influence the outcome of the elections while Naveen believes in peace. “The CM has a special focus on the development of Nimapara,” he added.