Narendra Modi greets Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik on his 75th birthday

Bhubaneswar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has greeted Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on his 75^th birthday, Friday.

The prime minister took to his twitter handle to wish the longest-serving Chief Minister of Odisha. “Birthday greetings to Odisha CM Shri Naveen Patnaik Ji. Praying for his long and health life,” Modi said in the tweet.

This time however, Naveen is not celebrating his birthday. According to a CMO statement, the CM has decided not to celebrate his birthday in view of the prevailing COVID-19 situation in Odisha.

The writer-turn-politician was roped into the politics first in 1997 after the demise of his father Biju Patnaik by the then Janata Dal heavyweights. He was elected to 11^th Lok Sabha and became a Union Minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government and in 2000 he became the chief minister of Odisha. Over the years, he has emerged as a leader with clean image in the landscape of national politics.

PNN