New Delhi: The gloves are off in Odisha. In a veiled attack on Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s close aide V.K. Pandian, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday hinted there could be a “lobby” behind the “sudden deterioration” of the CM’s health.
He said if the BJP came to power in the state — Assembly elections are being held concurrently with the Lok Sabha polls in Odisha — they would form a special committee to investigate this issue and reveal the “complete truth”.
At a rally in Baripada district, Modi said Patnaik’s well-wishers were worried about his failing health, adding, “Whenever people close to Naveen Patnaik meet me, they talk about his health. They tell me that Naveen babu is no longer able to do anything on his own.”
Continuing in the same vein, Modi asked the crowd, “Is there any lobby behind this? People of Odisha have a right to know if the lobby that is enjoying power in Odisha behind the scenes in the name of Naveen Patnaik is responsible for his ill health?”
Every well wisher of Naveen Babu is worried at the sudden deterioration of his health in the last year. Is there any lobby behind this?
After our Government is formed in Odisha, a special committee will be formed to investigate this issue and bring out the complete truth. pic.twitter.com/dZFPKCizL5
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 29, 2024
The Prime Minister’s remark came just a day after a video went viral of Pandian holding Patnaik’s trembling hand and moving it out of public view.
Soon, BJP leaders including Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, attacked Pandian and said this exposed the “control” he had over Patnaik.
Posting another video Wednesday, where Pandian is shown holding Patnaik’s legs, Sarma said, “Yesterday, Mr Pandian was controlling Naveen Babu’s hands, today it is his legs. Puppeteering an elected 5-term Chief Minister in such a manner is unprecedented in our history. My heart goes out to Naveen babu who may be unaware of this situation. The only way to restore his dignity, and that of Odisha, is to vote out the BJD.”
Yesterday Mr Pandian was controlling Naveen Babu’s hands, today it is his legs. Puppeteering an elected 5 term Chief Minister in such a manner is unprecedented in our history. My heart goes out to Naveen Babu who may be unaware of this situation. The only way to restore his… pic.twitter.com/lYEJPdZd7L
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (Modi Ka Parivar) (@himantabiswa) May 29, 2024
Patnaik, however, was quick to counter Modi’s remark, asking in a video that if the PM was so concerned about his health, why could he not pick up the phone and ask him.
“I understand that the Prime Minister, in a public meeting, has stated that I am in bad health and he wants to institute an inquiry into this matter. If he is so concerned, then all he has to do is pick up a telephone, ring me up and ask me about my health,” he said.
Patnaik, 77, accused BJP leaders of spreading rumours about his health for the last 10 years. “Let me assure the PM that I am in perfect health and have been campaigning in our state for the last month…”
Patnaik also said if Modi had to form a committee, then it should probe these rumour-mongers, not his health.
This election season in Odisha, in a marked departure from the previous bonhomie as Modi has frequently pounced on Patnaik during public meetings in the state.
Campaigning in the chief minister’s constituency Berhampur in early May, Modi said that 4 June was the “expiry date” of the Patnaik government and that the first BJP CM of the state would be sworn in on 10 June.
Though he had praised Patnaik as a “popular CM” in March — even lavishing praise on his father Biju Patnaik — the Prime Minister became bitingly critical after an attempt at a pre-poll seat-sharing deal with the BJD fell through.
Both parties have gone it alone in the state’s 21 Lok Sabha constituencies and its 147 assembly seats.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
Also read: Why ex-IAS officer VK Pandian, Odisha CM Patnaik’s confidant, is in Modi-Shah crosshairs