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Journalism of Courage
In a rare show of bonhomie with the leader of a party with which the BJP is in direct competition in the state, Union Home Minister Amit Shah Saturday hailed Odisha Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik for his “popularity”, noting that he had set the record for being the longest CM of the state.
Shah is on a two-day visit to Odisha, that follows soon after the BJD voted in favour of the Modi government on the contentious NCT Bill involving Delhi in the Lok Sabha. The BJD has also pledged support to the Modi government on the Opposition’s no-confidence motion, which comes up in Parliament next week.
The Union Home Minister, who was sharing the stage with Patnaik at an official programme in Bhubaneswar, also praised the CM, whom he addressed as “Naveen Babu”, over the fall in Maoist menace in the state and his government’s efficient disaster management.
The programme lasted nearly two hours, with Shah and Patnaik inaugurating several national highway projects and chairing review meetings on the Maoist menace and disaster management. While there was some talk that the two would have a one-on-one meeting, it was not clear whether this had taken place.
Addressing the gathering, Amit Shah said: “The Odisha government and Naveen Babu have always supported the Centre in combating Naxals. The BJP government at the Centre is committed to rooting out Naxalism from the country.”
He went on to laud the Odisha government for “showing the path to other states” in tackling natural disasters. “I would like to thank Naveenji for helping the Centre implement all the disaster management initiatives in the state. The state government also implemented its own initiatives… If two governments work in tandem, then natural calamities can also be contained,” Shah said, adding that the BJD government’s “zero casualty” approach towards natural disasters had ensured that the days when cyclones killed thousands in Odisha were in the past.
In his address, Patnaik said his government had always believed in “cooperative federalism” and thanked the Modi government for its “support to the state in its development agenda”.
Coming just nine months ahead of the next Assembly elections, the change in the BJP’s tune regarding the BJD government has the state agog. In 2019, leading the BJP campaign in Odisha for the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls, Shah had dubbed the Patnaik government as “a burnt transformer” and urged people to throw it out.
While the BJP and BJD were allies for around nine years, the partnership was snapped by Patnaik back in 2009, and the BJP has replaced the Congress as the principal opposition party in Odisha.
The BJD, though, has always taken care to keep its state and Central politics apart, with the Patnaik-led party extending support to the Modi government on crucial legislation, key national issues and the presidential election.
The camaraderie on display Saturday will further stir speculation over the future of the ties between the two parties.
The projects inaugurated Saturday included four-laning of the Kamakhyanagar-Duburi section of NH-53 at a cost of Rs 761 crore, to improve connectivity between the coal belt of Talcher and the steel hub of Kalinganagar; and the widening and revamping of the Moter-Banner Road in Kalahandi.
Shah used the occasion to talk of the Modi government’s infrastructure push during its nine years in power, calling it crucial to the development of the country.
Shah also made a mention of August 5 marking four years of the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, saying this had helped bring the erstwhile state into the mainstream and restore peace as well as accelerate development in the region.
After sharing the stage with Patnaik, Shah met BJP leaders for a closed-door meeting.
