“Our Chief Minister, Ideal Chief Minister”, ‘Our CM, Our Hero’ slogans rented the air as ruling BJD leaders here thronged the…
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik (Photo: Twitter)
“Our Chief Minister, Ideal Chief Minister”, ‘Our CM, Our Hero’ slogans rented the air as ruling BJD leaders here thronged the airport to accord a rousing reception to Mr Naveen Patnaik on return from Pune where he received the Ideal CM Award from former President Pratibha Patil and former union minister Murali Manohar Joshi on Monday.
The road leading to the Airport was jam packed. Street side temporary stages were erected and artists performed dance and folk music to greet the CM. The atmosphere was festive, BJD activist enthused and the show of strength aimed at dousing Opposition BJP which has been targeting the CM and his office. Paying floral tribute to the statue of Biju Patnaik at the Airport, the CM briefly addressed the gathering.
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“I dedicate this award to the people of Odisha. Let’s work together towards making Odisha the number one state,” Patnaik said. He was taken in a grand procession to his residence where Ministers, MLAs and others presented bouquets congratulating him for the award.
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Huge banners and posters were put up listing out achievements of the Naveen Patnaik government.The scenes were very much similar to the reception given to the CM when he had bagged the Best Administrator Award last year at a function in Delhi . The award had been given by a news magazine and president Pranab Mukherjee , finance minister Arun Jaitley were on stage.
He has made Odisha proud, the BJP should rise above narrow political stunts and accept facts just as their own party leaders like Murali Manohar Joshi had at the Award function at Pune on Monday, said BJD leaders. The state BJP was however unfazed. It held a press conference to deride the CM for arranging and collecting awards from private institutions outside Odisha.
The ground reality is that here people have lost confidence on him and have decided to remove him in 2019, said BJP state unit leaders.
All such awards and receptions are a last ditch image building exercise by a CM who realises that he is on his way out, remarked BJP spokespersons here.
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