'You Forgot About Odisha...': Naveen Patnaik Retorts After PM's Dare To Name State Districts

Bhubaneswar: Hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi challenged Naveen Patnaik to name the districts of Odisha and their district headquarters without referring to any notes, the Odisha Chief Minister said that PM Modi is remembering the state only at election time, "which will be of no use."

In a video message, CM Patnaik asked PM Modi, "Do you remember the promises he made in the 2014 and 2019 elections? Odisha's natural wealth is coal and you take coal from Odisha but you have forgotten to increase the royalty in the last 10 years. The Prime Minister is remembering Odisha only at election time, which will be of no use. Do you remember the promises you made in 2014 and 2019?"

He also pointed out that the PM had promised to double the MSP for the farmers of Odisha, which has not been done till now.

"You should have kept the people of Odisha in mind and built the coastal highway, which you have also forgotten. People of Odisha remember your promise to reduce prices of essential commodities, to create two crore jobs, to reduce prices of LPG, petrol, and diesel, to provide mobile connectivity to all and to reduce GST. The people of Odisha have not forgotten any of these," CM Patnaik said.

The Odisha Chief Minister also highlighted that even though Odia has been declared a classical language, the Prime Minister has forgotten about Odia.

"You have allotted Rs 1000 crores for the development of Sanskrit, but nothing for the Odia language. You have forgotten about Odissi music too. I have sent proposals for classical music recognition for Odissi, but you have rejected those twice," he added.

Stating there are so many brave sons in Odisha, a few of whom the PM named during his election campaigning, the BJD chief asked, "Don't any of them deserve the Bharat Ratna? You have given away the Bharat Ratna to so many people, but you again forgot about the great son of Odisha, Biju Patnaik."

The Chief Minister ended his video message saying, “Nothing will happen on June 10, neither in 10 years. The BJP can't win the hearts of the people of Odisha. With the blessings from Lord Jagannath and the love of the people of Odisha, the Biju Janata Dal will form the government in Odishal for the sixth time.”

PM Modi's Challenge to ‘Naveen Babu’

On Saturday, while addressing a public rally in Odisha's Kandhamal, PM Modi said that Odisha has vast opportunities for the tourism sector to flourish. He then challenged CM Patnaik to name the districts of Odisha and their respective capitals without seeing them on paper and said that Odisha's development remains stunted as the state government doesn't trust the people's capabilities.

"I want to challenge 'Naveen Babu' as he has been the CM for such a long, ask 'Naveen Babu' to name the districts of Odisha and their respective capitals without seeing them on paper. If the CM cannot name the districts of the state, will he know your pain?" the Prime Minister said.

Lok Sabha and assembly polls are being held simultaneously in Odisha. The four-phased Lok Sabha and assembly elections will start on May 13 and will also be held on May 20, May 25 and June 1. CM Patnaik is steering the party for a sixth straight term in office in the assembly polls.