On foreign policy, fight against graft, Naveen Patnaik gives Modi 8/10

Patnaik agreed that his government shares cordial ties with the Centre, saying it was in Odisha’s interest. “We have a cordial relationship with the Centre. Naturally, we want development of our state and it is important to have the Centre’s partnership in that development,” he said during an interaction programme at the Odisha Literary Festival organised by the New Indian Express in Bhubaneswar.

On rating Modi, Patnaik said, “As far as the Prime Minister is concerned, I think if we give a criteria of 8… 8 out of 10… because of what he has done for foreign policy and also in various other matters… Also, there has been less corruption in this government…”

When asked how he would rate the Prime Minister on domestic issues, the Chief Minister said, “As I said, he has helped in rooting out corruption and is trying his very best to serve the people of the country.”

Patnaik, whose party gave 33% tickets to women in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, also termed the recent passage of the women’s reservation Bill a “very important step”. “My party is always for the development of women. My father (former CM Biju Patnaik) began it by giving 33% reservation to women in local bodies in the early 90s. We have increased that to 50%,” he said.

The praise for the Prime Minister comes over a month after Union Home Minister Amit Shah, during his visit to Odisha on August 5, showered praise on Patnaik, calling him a “popular” CM. He also praised the Odisha government for “showing the path to other states” in tackling natural disasters and supporting the Centre’s efforts in combating Maoists.

Patnaik had, on the occasion, said that his government had always believed in “cooperative federalism” and thanked the Modi government for its “support to the state in its development agenda”.

Despite the apparent bonhomie, the BJD with its 12 MPs in Lok Sabha and 9 in Rajya Sabha has been careful to keep its state and central politics apart. While it extended support to the Modi government on crucial legislation, the presidential election, and opposed the recent no-confidence motion, the regional party has been at loggerheads with the BJP, a former ally for around nine years, in the state.

Patnaik also spoke on his government’s success in various sectors. “When I came to office at the beginning of the century, we all know the terrible poverty that Odisha faced. First, I tried my best, and I still do, to eradicate corruption. We were hit by the Supercyclone in 1999. We took strong steps for disaster management, which will be quite successful. We were lauded by the United Nations,” said Patnaik, who completed 23 years in office in March this year.