The ruling BJD is gung-ho over chief minister Naveen Patnaik being adjudged as the ideal chief minister by a Pune based varsity. Mr Patnaik will receive the award at Pune on Sunday. BJD leaders here are quick to tell everyone that the CM had bagged the “ Best Administrator” award instituted by a national news magazine and now he has won the ‘Ideal Chief Minister’ award and this establishes his credentials as the best in the country. When Patnaik received the best administrator award, the BJD had celebrated it in a big way.
A huge procession was arranged when he returned with the award from Delhi, massive hoardings and cut outs were put up all over the town. The same may be repeated when he returns from Pune with the ‘Ideal CM’ award, it was learnt. Overall development in the last 20 years, corruptionfree governance, quality administration and initiative to nurture Odisha into an ideal state were the deciding factors for deciding the winner. Odisha has registered a growth rate higher than the national average.
Poverty reduction has been the highest, investments and ease of doing business under Mr Patnaik has been remarkable, say figures put up by the government. He has anunblemished track record. The Opposition BJP is finding it hard to digest the matter and the consequent publicity drive of the ruling BJD. The entire episode is pre-arranged and rigged, the figures dished out by the government is imaginative and far from ground reality, said the BJP. The Congress echoed the same charges.