Bhubaneswar: On this day in 2000, Naveen had taken oath as the Chief Minister of Odisha. Since then, he has emerged as an invincible leader in the state and is still continuing as people’s Chief Minister even as he completes 21 years in the office Thursday.
The past one year remained challenging for him as the entire world including Odisha went through an unprecedented pandemic.
Due to advanced measures and proactive steps like lockdowns and shutdowns, the Naveen Patnaik government has successfully managed the Covid-19 pandemic.
Nearly 7 lakh people have returned to Odisha during the pandemic. The state has managed the situation by setting up temporary medical centres. Train charges and Rs 2,000 financial support was provided to migrants from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
At political level, his party (BJD) has also faced by-elections for two Assembly seats during the pandemic. The BJD led by Naveen Patnaik was able to retrain the Tirtol seat while snatching the Balasore Sadar seat from the BJP.
Fulfilling the long-standing demand of the Odia people, he has given state anthem status to Bande Utkala Janani song. After long debate and fight, Odisha’s own patriotic song Bande Utkala Janani was adopted as the state anthem. The State Cabinet had passed a resolution in this regard.