Naveen Patnaik’s interview was well-rehearsed, says Assam CM
Guwahati: In the last few days Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has been critical about the way of functioning of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and how his close aid and former bureaucrat and BJD member Kartikeyan Pandian is actually calling the shots.
In the latest post in X, the Assam Chief Minister said that the Odisha Chief Minister gave an interview which had ‘well-rehearsed answers’ and they have ‘ended up raising more questions.’
“I have watched Naveen Babu’s interview with @ANI which was specifically intended to allay our concerns. Unfortunately, his well-rehearsed answers have ended up raising more questions.”
During the interview with ANI, Patnaik was asked about allegations that Pandian is his “gatekeeper” and takes decisions on the Chief Minister's behalf. “That is ridiculous and I have said this often before. It's an old allegation and it holds no weight,” the veteran leader replied.
Sarma highlighted four critical points from the interview of Patnaik.
1) Naveen Babu was unable to answer why is that Mr Pandian the only person to be seen with him; either holding his mike or controlling his hands.
2) Naveen Babu’s successor is immaterial as Mr Pandian already has a firm back door entry in running Odisha. He has pervasive control over the Chief Minister and Nabin Niwas. Naveen Babu failed to assure the people of Odisha that this will change.
3) Even after this interview, the people of Odisha still do not know - why ministers/ bureaucrats have no direct access to the Chief Minister; does the Chief Minister physically sign on any file or Mr Pandian uses his digital signature; where is the key to Mahaprabhu’s Ratna Bhandar. These are among the several questions that remain unanswered.
4) When asked, in the unlikely event of BJD winning, will Naveen Babu continue for 5 years? His reply lacked a decisive yes. Either Mr Pandian has already selected the “successor” or more likely, even Naveen Babu knows BJP is winning hands down.