After a video of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik went viral in which CM’s close aide and BJD leader VK Pandian grabbled his trembling hand during an election rally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that after coming to power in the state, the BJP would inquire into the reason behind the BJD chief’s deteriorating health.
While addressing a public gathering in Mayurbhanj, Odisha, PM Modi said, “Nowadays all the well-wishers of Naveen Babu are very worried. He is very worried to see how Naveen Babu’s health has deteriorated so much in the last year. Over the years, whenever people close to Naveen Babu meet me, they discuss Naveen Babu’s health. They tell me that Naveen Babu is no longer able to do anything on his own. People who have been close to Naveen Babu for a long time believe that there could be a conspiracy behind his deteriorating health.”
The Prime Minister also questioned if there was a conspiracy behind Patnaik’s deteriorating health.
“The question is, is there any conspiracy behind Naveen Babu’s ill health? This is the right of the people of Odisha to know. Is there any involvement of that lobby in this which is enjoying power in Odisha behind the scenes in the name of Naveen Babu? It is important to uncover this mystery. Therefore, after the formation of the BJP government in Odisha on June 10, our government will form a special committee and will investigate why Naveen Babu’s health is suddenly deteriorating,” he said.
Accusing the BJD of looting the Jagannath Temple’s Ratna Bhandaar, PM Modi said, “The biggest betrayal that the BJD government has done is regarding Mahaprabhu’s Shri Ratna Bhandaar. Today, not just Odisha, but the whole country wants to know where the key to the Ratna Bhandar went? Whose name is in the report of the investigation that was conducted? I assure my Odisha citizens that what the BJD government is hiding, we will expose it after the BJP government is formed in Odisha.”
The matter pertains to the controversy surrounding the missing keys of the Ratna Bhandar of 12th century Jagannath Temple, which are officially “lost” according to the Odisha government.
Jagannath Temple is the most revered temple in the state. The temple’s treasury is termed as ‘Ratna Bhandar’. According to the rules and practices of the temple; the gold, jewels, and other offerings made by the public to ‘Jagannath Mahaprabhu’ are stored in this Ratna Bhandar.
He further described his two terms of governance as a trailer and said that the coming five years of his governance will be full of unprecedented achievements for India’s development.
“This is just a trailer. The coming five years will be full of unprecedented achievements for India’s development. In the next 5 years, India is going to become the third-largest economic power in the world. We will see a self-reliant India being created in many areas. We will see a complete rejuvenation of excellent highways, wonderful expressways, and railways,” PM Modi said.
Exuding confidence in the BJD’s win in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Odisha, Prime Minister Modi said that the enthusiasm in people is making sure that a strong Modi government will be formed for the third time.
“Today is my last day of election campaign in Odisha. The election campaign will end tomorrow at 5 pm in the entire country. I am coming from West Bengal and I will go to Jharkhand now. Whether I go to Jharkhand or West Bengal or Odisha, the enthusiasm in people is making sure that a strong Modi government will be formed for the third time,” he said.
He further invited the people of the state to attend the swearing-in ceremony of a new BJP Chief Minister on June 10.
“I am happy that Odisha has chosen to put a full stop to the BJD’s governance of 25 years. I have come here to invite you to attend the swearing-in ceremony of a new BJP Chief Minister on June 10,” PM Modi said.
Odisha is seeing simultaneous polls to both Lok Sabha and the assembly. The assembly and Lok Sabha polls in the BJD-ruled state are being held across four phases, from May 13 to June 1.
Navin Patnaik, who has been in power as the chief minister since 2000, is seeking a record sixth term in simultaneous state elections. The counting of votes for all phases in the state and elsewhere in the country will be held on June 4.
In the last assembly elections in 2019, the BJD won the maximum number of seats, winning 112 out of the 146 seats. The BJP won 23 seats, while Congress had to be content with just 9.