Sambalpur: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is campaigning for BJP in Odisha, on Thursday alleged that a hostage-like situation exists in the state, suggesting that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik might be under undue influence of his aide and BJD leader V K Pandian.
“This election is about the pride of Odisha. The CM of Odisha cannot meet anyone alone or converse without Pandian’s presence. We need to understand if Naveen Babu himself desires Pandian’s constant presence or Pandian has orchestrated a situation where Naveen Babu cannot break free,” he told reporters after offering prayers at Samaleswari temple here.
He added that a senior citizen or a High Court judge should speak to the CM to understand his situation. “Nobody knows how the CM is doing or what he thinks. I urge senior citizens to meet and interact with the CM about how he is feeling. I think Naveen babu is in a hostage situation… if anyone meets and speaks to the CM in Pandian’s absence for 10 minutes, Naveen Babu will certainly cry….If a CM is in a hostage situation, it’s not good for the country… I think Pandian has captured Naveen Babu and the whole governance in Odisha.”
Himanta further claimed that he understands T in 5T as Tamil Nadu. “We have to form a BJP government in Odisha as it is a matter of Odia Asmita now… The incumbent government has outsourced the resources of Odisha and also hidden the keys of Shree Jagannath Temple’s Ratna Bhandar. It is playing with the swabhiman (self-respect) of the state. We can hardly see any leaders of BJD on the ground. Expect for Pandian, we can see no party or government in Odisha. There is no CM in the state. Pandian is the CM here,” he said.
He said that a lot of secret will be come out in the open once Pandian leaves the state on June 11 a day after the BJP forms its government here . “The BJD will break once the results are out. People with self-respect will leave the party and switch sides to BJP,” he added.
The Assam CM later conducted a roadshow in Sambalpur with Union Minister Dharmendra Pradham, who is the BJP MP candidate from the constituency.
Addressing a rally in Nimapada, Pandian requested the Assam CM to learn the cultural ethos of Odisha and refrain from making disparaging comments about the CM. He also reminded him that Naveen was a Cabinet Minister in PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Cabinet “Naveen Babu worked with the guru of your guru. He was a Cabinet minister in PM Vajpayee Ji’s Cabinet. Since Assam CM is a guest in Odisha, I will not tell much. But I will pray Mahaprabhu to inculcate in him the right values so that he knows how to speak about a popular CM,” he added.
Organisational secretary of BJD Pranab Prakash Das also hit out at BJP leaders, saying that people of the state will not accept this type of campaign about his health condition based on lies. “People of Odisha love their chief minister very much. In this election too the regional outfit will win with a three-fourth majority and Naveen Patnaik will take oath as the next chief minister on June 9,” he added.
