Bhubaneswar: The man of few words but whose works speak, Naveen Patnaik, the Chief Minister of Odisha, spoke on an array of important issues that are related to Odisha and the nation as a whole. Speaking to Prabhu Chawla, Editorial Director of The New Indian Express, for the first time after his massive victory in last elections, Naveen gave a thought on his idea of development and growth. Ranging from the development of sports in Odisha to abrogation of Article 370, the Chief Minister elaborated upon many things that were of interest.
Speaking to a question from renowned journalist Prabhu Chawla on the succession plans, to everybody’s applause, the Chief Minister categorically said that the people of Odisha will choose the successor at the right time. I don’t believe in choosing a successor.
Speaking on the dream and development of the state after his winning the elections, the Chief Minister said “In the past few terms we achieved certain standards for our people. Now we intend to achieve even more in the next five years. We have started a program of 5-T for transformation and also Mo sarkar.”
Elaborating the magic behind the success story, Naveen gave the credit to a team that is invisible and still delivers. The CM said “we have an excellent team of officers that works hard for this transformation. The team is not working on its own; it is working on certain ideals for our progress.”
Speaking on the relationship between the State and the center the Chief Minister said, the last elections were not bitter and we have always believed in constructive cooperation with the central government and therefore we expect their help in the state and we support in whatever constructive.
On promotion of sports, Naveen said “We have decided to give great emphasis on expenditures on sports because it is investment in youth and youth is investment in future. And we certainly hope that Odisha in the future will produce sportspersons of Olympic standards.” When asked on the issue of abolition of Guard of Honour, he said, the things like Guard of Honour were the legacy of the Colonial Raj and we renamed the state secretariat as Lok Seva Bhawan to show that we have a people centric government.
Coming to the national scenario, Chief Minister stressed on the development of the area that is along the border to Pakistan. In particular, Jammu and Kashmir should see development. He said, we seem to be on that path and support the abolition of Article 370.
Commenting on his writing skills and any plans for the future, the Chief Minister said “I wrote three books in the past before I came into politics… And let us see in the future after my retirement and certainly think about”.
To question from the audience on the chief minister’s fitness funda, Naveen said I exercise twice a day and keep an eye on my diet…eat less and exercise in the morning and evening.
He called upon the youth to cooperate with the government for the development and progress of the state and work for fight against poverty.