Finance
In a rare show of bonhomie with the leader of a party with which the BJP is in direct competition in the state, Union Home Minister Amit Shah praised Odisha Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik for his “popularity” on Saturday, noting that he had set the record for being the state’s longest CM.
Shah is in Odisha for two days, following the BJD’s support for the Modi government in the Lok Sabha on the contentious NCT Bill concerning Delhi. The BJD has also promised to back the Modi government against the Opposition’s no-confidence resolution, which will be debated in Parliament next week.
The Union Home Minister, who was on stage with Patnaik for an official event in Bhubaneswar, also praised the CM, whom he addressed as “Naveen Babu”, over the fall in Maoist menace in the state and his government’s efficient disaster management.
The nearly two-hour presentation featured Shah and Patnaik inaugurating major national highway projects and chairing review meetings on the Maoist threat and disaster management. While there was considerable speculation that the two would meet one-on-one, it was unclear whether this had occurred.
Addressing the gathering, Amit Shah said: “The Odisha government and Naveen Babu have always supported the Centre in combating Naxals. The BJP government at the Centre is committed to rooting out Naxalism from the country.”
He then praised the Odisha administration for “showing the path to other states” in dealing with natural calamities. “I’d like to thank Naveenji for assisting the Centre in implementing all of the state’s disaster management initiatives.” The state administration also carried out its own projects… Natural calamities can be contained if two governments work together,” Shah said, adding that the BJD government’s “zero casualty” approach to natural disasters has insured that the days of cyclones killing thousands in Odisha were over.
In his address, Patnaik said his government had always believed in “cooperative federalism” and thanked the Modi government for its “support to the state in its development agenda”.
The change in the BJP’s tune regarding the BJD government has the state abuzz, just nine months before the next Assembly elections. In 2019, while leading the BJP’s campaign in Odisha for the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, Shah referred to the Patnaik administration as “a burnt transformer” and asked voters to throw it out.
While the BJP and BJD were allies for about nine years, Patnaik broke the alliance in 2009, and the BJP has since replaced the Congress as the state’s main opposition party.
The BJD, on the other hand, has traditionally kept its state and central politics separate, with the Patnaik-led party supporting the Modi government on critical legislation, significant national problems, and the presidential election.
The friendship on show Saturday will fuel conjecture about the future of the two parties’ ties.
The projects inaugurated on Saturday included the four-laning of the Kamakhyanagar-Duburi portion of NH-53 at a cost of Rs 761 crore to increase connectivity between Talcher’s coal region and Kalinganagar’s steel hub, as well as the widening and refurbishing of the Moter-Banner Road in Kalahandi.
Shah used the opportunity to highlight the Modi government’s infrastructure push during its nine years in office, calling it critical to the country’s prosperity.
Shah also mentioned the four-year anniversary of the repeal of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, saying it has helped bring the former state back into the mainstream, restore peace, and accelerate regional growth.
After sharing the platform with Patnaik, Shah met with BJP leaders behind closed doors.
