I am in very good health, says Naveen Patnaik; V K Pandian terms BJP’s claims ‘below the belt’

Patnaik visited Mayurbhanj on Friday to campaign for party candidates. Mayurbhanj will go to polls in the final phase on June 1.

The CM’s statement came a day after BJP leader and his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma, while campaigning in Sambalpur on Thursday, said that Patnaik was in a “hostage situation”. Sarma also urged some senior citizens and eminent personalities of the state to “speak to Naveen Babu to ascertain how he is”.

BJP’s former state unit president Samir Mohanty has also written to Odisha Director General of Police urging him to “free the Chief Minister from the clutches of former IAS officer and Patnaik’s close aide V K Pandian” and to facilitate the opportunity for his (Patnaik’s) interaction with the media”.

Mohanty, in his letter, said the people of Odisha have the right to know about the condition of the Chief Minister to take action on the sensitive issue considering the larger interests of the state.

Reacting to the BJP’s claims, Pandian said the allegations are “below the belt”. “I only hope the BJP comes up with innovative ideas instead of talking about something which is non-existent. You are all watching the CM. It’s (BJP’s allegations) very unfortunate, below the belt,” said Pandian while talking to ANI.

Pandian, who is now the BJD’s top election strategist, said the people of Odisha will not appreciate the demeaning things said about the Chief Minister. “It’s so substandard,” he said.