Bhubaneswar: Expressing his views on the much-debated succession plan of BJD’s leadership and grooming of his close confidante Kartik Pandian, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Thursday has said that Pandian is not his successor.
In an interview with ANI, Naveen said that bureaucrat-turned-politician Pandian is not his successor and that the people of Odisha will decide about his successor.
“I can’t understand these (Pandian being projected as Naveen’s successor) exaggerations. You may have noticed that he (Pandian) is not even standing for elections,” the BJD supremo added.
Naveen further cleared the air on the allegations labelled by the opposition regarding the decision-making power of Pandian on behalf of the Chief Minister and said, “This is ridiculous and I have said it often before, this is an old allegation and it holds no weight.”
Responding to a question on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent remarks on his health, Naveen said, “If he (PM Modi) is so concerned about my health, all he needed was to pick up the telephone and enquire about my health instead of stating it loudly at public meetings three times yesterday (Wednesday).”
Naveen also said, “My health is perfectly alright as you can see I have been campaigning for the past month all over the state amid a very hot season.”
When asked about attending cabinet meetings, the Chief Minister said, “I always chair the cabinet meetings. There is not a single cabinet meeting that I do not chair.”
Regarding the prospects of BJD in the ongoing simultaneous elections in Odisha, the five-time Chief Minister said that his party will get a ‘handsome’ figure, form government in Odisha, and win a majority of Lok Sabha seats from the state.
PNN