ONI Bureau: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who recently went aggressive to be “interviewed” by some local print media as well as those operating from Odisha, has given an exclusive interview to NDTV, which was telecast tonight. The interview was conducted by Sreenivasan Jain.
Responding to the BJP’s allegations that bureaucrats are running the government in Odisha, the CM rubbished the charges saying “it’s ridiculous to say I am not in charge. I am as much in charge as I was before”.
He also rejected Baijayant Panda’s allegations that bureaucrats are running the show, while senior leaders have been sidelined, terming those as incorrect and baseless.
When asked whether he sees BJP as a big threat, Naveen shrugged it off with a statement, “BJP’s rise won’t have any effect in Odisha”. He also made it clear again that his party Biju Janata Dal would maintain equidistance from BJP and Congress and fight polls on its own.
Responding to a query on whether he thinks BJP is trying to trigger a split in his party, Naveen said he is not scared or apprehensive of any such move. “A decision of allying with non-BJP or regional parties at the national level, will be taken only after seeing the results in 2019,” he added.
Naveen Patnaik also played down talks of his being the PM candidate, saying he will remain focused on Odisha and work for the development of the people of the state.
“The performance of our party, development work, welfare programmes are responsible for bringing us back for the fourth term,” said Naveen in reply to a question by the NDTV Anchor.