Naveen Patnaik

Bhubaneswar, July 18: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik today asserted that the UPA’s effort to poach MPs from NDA constituents would not affect his party.

Predicting end of the UPA regime in the Centre, Naveen said: “They will lose the vote of confidence in the Lok Sabha.”

A confident Naveen told the reporters here this afternoon: “My party MPs will vote against the confidence motion moved by the UPA government on the Indo-US nuclear deal.”

On his reasons for opposing the nuclear deal, he said: “They (Congress-led UPA) have not taken all parties into confidence. It seems they are moving into it with a haste and that’s incorrect.”

“They were not transparent on the deal. They should take others into confidence before entering into such an important international pact,” Naveen said.

Sources said the BJD chief held discussions on the N-deal with party MPs and BJP central leadership during his three-day New Delhi visit.