Former Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik backs Pandian again

Bhubaneswar: Former Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday once again backed BJD leader and his key aide V K Pandian, saying the bureaucrat-turned-politician has served the state and party with utmost dedication efficiency and integrity, and rejected a media report of a split in his party as "completely false, motivated, defamatory and malicious".

He was reacting to the report that claimed that he had asked Union Home Minister Amit Shah “not to entertain” Pandian.

“This is completely false, motivated, defamatory and malicious. As I have stated earlier Pandian has served the state and party with utmost dedication, efficiency and integrity and is known and respected for the same," he said in a post on X.

The saffron party also rejected a claim made in the report that Patnaik had assured Union Home Minister Amit Shah of BJD’s support in the Rajya Sabha where the NDA lacks majority.

BJP vice president Biranchi Narayan Tripathy said, “BJP doesn’t need any help from the BJD as it has majority in the state and at the Centre.”