Amid videos of Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s shivering hands going viral on social media, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that the well-wishers of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader were worried over his health, and they believed that there might be a conspiracy behind it, invoking immediate rebuttal from Patnaik.
Addressing a public meeting in Baripada town of Mayurbhanj district, Modi wondered if a lobby, who is enjoying power in Odisha behind curtains, were involved in the conspiracy, and assured that if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is voted to power in the state, a special committee will be formed to ascertain why Patnaik’s health got deteriorated.
“The well-wishers and those who were close to Naveen babu are worried over the fact that his health has deteriorated significantly in the last one year. Whenever they meet me, they say that he is unable to do anything on his own. They believe that there might be a conspiracy behind the incident,” Modi said.
“Is there any conspiracy? The people of Odisha have the right to know the truth. Is the lobby, who is enjoying power in Odisha behind curtains, involved in the matter? If the BJP is voted to power in Odisha, our government will form a special committee after June 10. The committee will ascertain as to why Naveen babu’s health deteriorated,” he said.
Patnaik immediately hit back at Modi, saying he was hurt by Modi’s comments.
“The PM in a public meeting has said that I am in bad health and that he wants to institute an inquiry. If he is so concerned about my health and he has stated publicly before that I am a good friend of his, all he had to do was to pick up the telephone and ring me up about my health. I understand a number of people of BJP in Odisha and Delhi have been spreading rumours about my health for the last 10 years. Let me assure the PM that I am in perfect health, and I am campaigning in the state since last month. If he were to form a committee, I suggest he form a committee to look into people who are spreading such rumours,” Patnaik told journalists at his residence Naveen Niwas.
On Tuesday, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had shared a video on X in which BJD leader and Patnaik’s close aide VK Pandian was purportedly seen hiding the shivering hand of the chief minister behind the podium while he was addressing a meeting.
“Shri VK Pandian ji is even controlling the hand movements of Shri Naveen Babu. I shudder to imagine the level of control a retired ex-bureaucrat from Tamil Nadu is currently exercising over the future of Odisha,” he said.
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