Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s proposed meeting with Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan in New Delhi has not gone down well with his cabinet colleague Damodar Rout.
The minister openly expressed his discontentment over the meet to be held at Orissa Bhawan in New Delhi Friday. Commenting on Patnaik’s scheduled meeting with Pradhan, Rout said Thursday: “Naveen Patnaik is the Chief Minister of Orissa and he (Pradhan) is just a Minister of State. And as per protocol the Chief Minister could have summoned him (Pradhan) for discussion rather than meeting him in Delhi.”
Rout, who is also one of the BJD vice-presidents, pointed out that the state had inked a pact with IOCL for its refinery in Paradip. The state government could have summoned officials of the central PSU as well and seek an explanation for breaching the agreement, he said.
Principal opposition Congress trained its guns on the ruling party. Congress chief whip Taraprasad Bahinipati, who supported Rout’s view, alleged that the scheduled meeting exposed a BJP-BJD deal and the tacit understanding between the two parties. However, food minister SN Patro said, “The meeting has been arranged to resolve matters related to the refinery at the earliest.” BJD spokesperson Samir Ranjan Das said that in Delhi also it is Pradhan who will be meeting the CM “Orissa Bhawan is used by the state for official purposes in the national capital.
Post News Network
