New Delhi:

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged a “sudden deterioration” in Naveen Patnaik’s health condition, the Odisha Chief Minister today said he is “very well” and hopes to “continue to serve the people of my state”.

The Biju Janata Dal chief, the second longest-serving chief minister of the country, was speaking to news agency ANI ahead of the final phase of polling in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls. The state polls in Odisha are being held alongside the general election.

A series of social media videos purportedly showing Mr Patnaik in a frail condition had prompted the BJP to question his health. In a rally at Odisha’s Balasore, the Prime Minister hinted at a “conspiracy” behind the “sudden deterioration” in the 77-year-old Chief Minister’s health. “Is the lobby that is currently running the Patnaik government on his behalf responsible for it?” the Prime Minister said, adding that if the BJP comes to power in the eastern state, it will form a panel to probe this matter.

Soon after, Mr Patnaik responded, “Let me assure the PM that I am in perfect health and I have been campaigning in the state for the last month. He has stated publicly earlier that I am his good friend. All he had to do was pick up the telephone and ask me about my health. But a number of BJP people from Odisha and Delhi are spreading rumours about my health.”

#WATCH | On PM Narendra Modi, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik says, “I have done that (dialling PM Modi) often. The Prime Minister has said in recent public meetings that I am a good friend of his. So, if he heard these rumours and was concerned about it, was it not his duty to pick up… pic.twitter.com/OfMIERNYcC

— ANI (@ANI) May 30, 2024

Asked about his remark in which he said that the Prime Minister could have just picked up the phone and checked on him, Mr Patnaik told ANI, “The PM has said in public meetings that I am a good friend of his. So wasn’t it his duty, if he heard these rumours and was concerned, to have just picked up the telephone and asked me about them?”

Earlier, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma shared a video of Mr Patnaik in which his hand appears to be shaking. Also seen in the video is VK Pandian, Mr Patnaik’s long-term aide and a former IAS officer who has now joined BJD. The BJP has repeatedly targeted Mr Pandian, alleging that he is controlling the state government.

“This is a deeply distressing video. Shri VK Pandian ji is even controlling the hand movements of Shri Naveen Babu. I shudder to imagine the level of control a retired ex bureaucrat from Tamil Nadu is currently exercising over the future of Odisha!” Mr Sarma posted on X. Mr Patnaik responded, “I believe the BJP which is known to make non-issues into issues, are discussing my hands. This will certainly not work.”

#WATCH | On allegations by the opposition and former BJD leaders that “VK Pandian takes decisions on behalf of CM Patnaik”, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik says, “…This is ridiculous and I have said it often before, this is an old allegation and it holds no weight.” pic.twitter.com/FTNZSoEqOe

— ANI (@ANI) May 30, 2024

During the interview with ANI, Mr Patnaik was asked about allegations that Mr 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.

Odisha is among the BJP’s key focus areas in this election, and party leaders have said they are confident of a good show in both the general election and state polls. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said their Odisha target is to win 17 out of 21 Lok Sabha seats in the state and 75 out of 147 Assembly seats. The BJD won 12 seats in the state in 2019, while the BJP bagged right. In fact, the two parties were expected to tie-up ahead of the polls, but the talks fell through.

Bhubaneswar:

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s close aide and senior BJD leader VK Pandian on Tuesday claimed the opposition BJP has “committed nine self goals” during the ongoing Lok Sabha and Odisha Assembly polls thus boosting the regional party’s electoral prospect.

Mr Pandian claimed that the BJP’s self-goals will help the BJD and none can stop the regional party from forming the government for the sixth consecutive time.

Lok Sabha and Assembly elections are being held simultaneously in Odisha.

He also claimed that the BJD has so far by the end of the third phase of Assembly polls, already secured majority to form government in the state and the next and final phase of voting will be held in BJD’s stronghold areas.

Speaking on the nine self-goals of the BJP, Mr Pandian claimed that the number one “mistake” in the series was to drag Lord Jagannath’s name to the political discourse and also using “abusive language” against Odisha’s most popular and five-time chief minister Naveen Patnaik.

“The people of Odisha do not appreciate these words against a respected person like Mr Patnaik,” he said.

On the second self-goal, Mr Pandian said they have said in the manifesto to “close down” the Mission Shakti if BJP comes to power. They have all along conspired against Mission Shakti which has about 70 lakh women membership. This possible action of BJP has created a “panicky situation” among the women.

He said if the BJP comes to power, it will “stop” the benefits of the Biju Swaasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) for the people of Odisha by implementing the Ayushman Bharat scheme. While the Ayushman Bharat scheme is only for the BPL people, the BSKY covers about 90 per cent of the state’s population.

“This is the third self-goal and the people of Odisha will teach BJP a lesson in the elections,” Mr Pandian said.

The bureaucrat-turned-politician said the BJD government has introduced school, college, university and technical education institutions transformation. The BJP will “close down” all such activities if it comes to power. This apart, the BJP will also “stop” giving scholarships to the students, Mr Pandian claimed.

On the fifth self-goal, Mr Pandian said the tribals “fear” that the BJP will “stop” the BJD’s Special Development Councils (SDCs) which work to protect and promote the tribal language and culture. No BJP rules state has such facilities for the tribals as provided by the Patnaik government in Odisha, he claimed.

This apart, Mr Pandian said that the people are apprehensive that the state’s communal harmony will be disturbed if the BJP comes to power. In “Double Engine Sarkar” states, there is illegal extortion collection and small businessmen are the victims, he alleged. The people apprehend that such culture will also come to Odisha if BJP forms government in the state, he said.

Regarding MSP on paddy, Mr Pandian said that the BJP has now announced to give Rs 3,100 as MSP per quintal of paddy. The people are now asking why it was not earlier while the central government is the authority to decide the rate of MSP.

He said the BJP got a shock after the Patnaik government announced free electricity to about 90 per cent of the households. They have now coined free power versus solar power.

The BJP’s solar power scheme will meet the fate of the Ujjawala scheme where the women had to pay heavy price after getting a cylinder or two free of cost, he said.

On the BJP’s ninth self-goal, Mr Pandian said it is BJP’s ‘Subhadra Yojana’ under which the saffron party announced to give Rs 50,000 to each women.

“If each woman in Odisha gets Rs 50,000, the total amount required will be Rs 1 lakh core. This is another ‘jumla’ of BJP after the false assurance of Rs 15 lakh to each family,”Mr Pandian said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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New Delhi:

A day after his request for a voluntary retirement came through, VK Pandian, former private secretary to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, has been given a cabinet minister rank in the state government.

An order issued by Odisha’s General Administration and Public Grievance department said the IAS officer has been appointed as chairman of the state government’s 5T (Transformation Initiatives) and Nabin Odisha scheme. The order mentions that he will hold a cabinet minister rank.

Earlier, sources from the ruling BJD had said Mr Pandian may join the party and is likely to be given a bigger role ahead of next year’s Assembly polls, news agency PTI reported.

A 2000-batch IAS officer of Odisha cadre, Mr Pandian started his career as the sub-collector of Dharmagarh in Kalahandi in 2002. He was appointed the collector of Mayurbhanj in 2005, and then in 2007, he was made the collector of Ganjam. It was during his posting in Ganjam that he became a trusted officer of the Chief Minister. Mr Pandian joined the Chief Minister’s Office in 2011, and was later promoted as his Mr Patnaik’s private secretary.

Mr Pandian’s rise as the most trusted aide of the BJD chief has drawn fire from the the party’s rivals, who have accused him of misusing a bureacrat’s position.

Soon after his request for voluntary retirement came through, Congress MP Saptagiri Ulaka said he would not be surprised if Mr Pandian took charge as chief minister of Odisha before the next polls.

“…such is the power structure in Odisha, no one has clue what’s happening but everyone knows who’s controlling. VRS approved in 3 days during holidays – Super Fast,” he said in a post on X.

Senior Congress MLA SS Saluja said Mr Pandian should have quit public service earlier. “We do not know whether he will join politics or return back to his own state. However, if he joins the BJD, then it will be helpful for the opposition, the Congress is particular,” Mr Saluja told news agency PTI.

BJP chief whip Mohan Majhi said, “Now, he will be able to do politics openly instead of with the mask of a bureaucrat on. He will not be accepted by the people of Odisha.”

Bhubaneswar:

IAS officer VK Pandian, the private secretary of Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik, took voluntary retirement from government service, officials said on Monday.

Mr Pandian whose rose to prominence as the close aide of the chief minister has often landed him in controversies, with opposition parties alleging that he was misusing his position for political gains.

He was a 2000-batch IAS officer of the Odisha cadre.

In a letter to the Odisha government’s general administration department, the Centre’s Department of Personnel and Training said his voluntary retirement has been accepted “with the waiver of the notice period as recommended by the State Government”.

The opposition BJP and Congress had asked him to resign and “officially join the BJD”, after he went on a whirlwind tour across the state during which he held 190 meetings to hear public grievances.

Senior Congress MLA SS Saluja welcomed Mr Pandian’s decision to take voluntary retirement.

“We welcome his decision. He should have done it earlier. We do not know whether he will join politics or return back to his own state. However, if he joins the BJD, then it will be helpful for the opposition, the Congress is particular,” SS Saluja said.

BJP chief whip Mohan Majhi said Pandian has resigned to take forward his political activities.

“Now, he will be able to do politics openly instead of with the mask of a bureaucrat on. He will not be accepted by the people of Odisha,” he claimed.

The assembly elections in Odisha will be due early next year and are usually held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)