Bhubaneswar: Fighting alone since 2009, Odisha Chief Minister and BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik, despite being humbled in the last local body polls and facing a belligerent BJP that has been trying hard to topple his government in 2019 Assembly polls, still exudes his trademark sense of invincibility. He also does not appear nervous at the sudden rise of the BJP in the state.
Nor does Patnaik seem much worried over BJP national president Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcing to make Odisha the “testing laboratory” of the NDA government for eradication of poverty and successful implementation of NDA government’s pro-poor programmes for inclusive growth, apparently to dislodge him from power.
The bachelor chief minister, who prefers to remain calm and composed, has challenged BJP’s top leadership.
Patnaik, while addressing party leaders on the occasion of his father and former CM Biju Patnaik’s 20th death anniversary on April 16, was quite brazen in his attack on BJP leaders saying “they should learn Odisha model of inclusive growth rather than teaching us. Odisha has grown faster on many socio-economic parameters than other states.”
“We have better knowledge than others on what inclusive growth is. Here, the fruits of inclusive development have reached all sections of society”, he said.
