PM Dares Naveen Patnaik To Name Districts, Odisha CM Hits Back With "Do You Remember 10 Years Promises" Jibe

Hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticised Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and dared him to name all the districts of states, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief hit back saying he remembers names of all districts, but does Prime Minister remember promises he made in last 10 years.

BJP, who was once really close to the BJP, recently parted its ways with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Along with the Lok Sabha seats, Odisha will also poll for 147-member state assembly.

Sharing a video statement on Saturday, Naveen Patnaik said PM asks about Odisha, but he doesn't remember promises that he had made to the country.

"Even though Odia is a classical language, you forgot about it. You allotted ₹ 1,000 crore to Sanskrit but zero to Odia. You have forgotten about Odissi music too. I sent two proposals to grant classical status to Odissi music, but you rejected both of them.There are so many brave sons of Odisha, some of whom you spoke about today. Don't any of them deserve the Bharat Ratna, including the great son of Odisha, Biju Patnaik," BJP chief said.

The Chief Minister criticized the Prime Minister for failing to fulfill his pledge to double the minimum support price for farmers in the state. He emphasized the importance of considering the welfare of Odisha's residents and highlighted the stalled progress on the long-anticipated coastal highway project. Mr. Patnaik underscored coal as a significant natural resource of Odisha, expressing disappointment over the Prime Minister's alleged neglect in raising the royalty paid for it over the past decade.

Patnaik also alleged that PM did nothing for the people of Odisha.

"Remembering Odisha only during elections will not help. Do you remember the promises you had made in 2014 and 2019? The people of Odisha remember your promise to reduce prices of LPG, petrol and diesel, to create 2 crore jobs, to provide mobile connectivity to all, to reduce and waive GST. The people of the state have not forgotten any of these," he said.

Earlier, PM Modi in a really said that Odisha will have a new Chief Minister on June 10.