Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday strongly reacted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pointed remarks about his health, hinting at possible conspiracies and vowing to investigate further if the BJP comes to power in Odisha.
“I understand that the Prime Minister, at a public meeting, has stated that I am in a bad health and he wants to institute an inquiry into this matter. If he is so concerned about my health and he has stated publicly before that I am a good friend of his, all he has to do was pick up a telephone and ring me up and ask me about my health,” he told a presser.
He further stated that a number of people in the BJP from Odisha and Delhi have been spreading rumours about my health for the last 10 years. “Let me assure the PM that I am in perfect health and I have been campaigning in our state for the last month in the heat…Instead of concerning himself over such rumours, the PM should concentrate on the revision of coal royalty for Odisha and the special category status, which we have been demanding for years. This will help people of Odisha with all that funding….,” he said.
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Naveen said that if the PM has to form a committee, he should to look into the people who are spreading lies about his health. “These lies are being peddled by the BJP for votes,” he added while excusing himself for campaigning at Nimapara.
Addressing a rally at Chhau Ground in Baripada in Mayurbhanj district, Modi promised that if the BJP forms a government in Odisha, it would constitute a committee to ascertain the reason behind the “sudden” deterioration of the health condition of Naveen. “Whenever people who have been close to Naveen Babu for years meet me, they always talk about his health. They say that Naveen Babu is now unable to do anything on his own. They believe that there could be a conspiracy behind his deteriorating health,” he added.
The PM had earlier told ANI that he would prioritise the development of Odisha over maintaining amicable ties with Naveen, who in the past has supported the NDA over important issues in Parliament.
Six Lok Sabha seats – Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur and Kendrapada – and 42 assembly seats under them are going to polls in the last phase on June 1.
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