Wednesday, Apr 24, 2024 | Last Update : 03:44 PM IST
Naveen Patnaik meets PM Modi, BJD eyes deputy speaker’s post
Speculation is also rife that the Biju Janata Dal was eyeing the post of Lok Sabha deputy speaker.
New Delhi: Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asked for his state to be granted the special category status in the aftermath of Cyclone Fani. Speculation is also rife that the Biju Janata Dal was eyeing the post of Lok Sabha deputy speaker.
“I congratulated him on his electoral victory, I also requested him for special category status for Odisha as we have been hit by a cyclone recently, which did a great deal of damage,” Mr Patnaik told the media in New Delhi after meeting the PM.
The Odisha chief minister clarified that no discussions were held on Union Budget or Ayushman Bharat during the meeting. Odisha witnessed a trail of destruction due to Cyclone Fani’, which made landfall on May 3. The state government had said earlier this month that a total loss of around Rs 9,336.26 crores was incurred in the wake of this calamity.
Mr Patnaik also met President Ram Nath Kovind later.
The BJP, which had given the deputy speaker’s post to the AIADMK in its first term, might accommodate the BJD for the position this time.
Earlier in the day, the Karnataka governor also met the Prime Minister.
Prime Minister Modi is likely to host a dinner for all the visiting chief ministers who will attend the Niti Aayog meeting on June 15. Apart from the CMs from BJP-ruled states, neutral chief ministers of like Andhra Pradesh’s Jagan Mohan Reddy and Mr Patnaik are likely to attend the event.
