Bhubaneswar, May 17: Call him a copycat but chief minister Naveen Patnaik does not shy away from borrowing liberally from his peers and counterparts if it serves his political ends.

Naveen, who took a leaf out of his Tamil Nadu counterpart, Jayalalithaa's book while modelling most of his populist schemes, now seems to have turned to Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Bannerjee for inspiration and adopted her popular slogan Ma Mati Manush (the Odia version is Ma Mati Manisha) that has brought her rich political dividends since the general elections of 2009.

For Naveen, whose party - the Biju Janata Dal - has won elections in the past on the slogans of "Jal, Jamin, Jungle" (water, land and forest) and " Gaon Ku Kaam" and "Maanku Samman" (work for people at villages and respect for mother), the latter originally coined by his father, Biju Patnaik, Mamata's famous tag line is the latest entry into his political lexicon.

He wove Trinamul's popular catch phrase into his speech with ease while mounting a scathing attack on the Opposition as the Assembly's budget session was adjourned sine die four days ahead of schedule following repeated disruptions over money deposit collection scam and alleged corruption by his ministers.

"The Opposition did not allow the House to transact normal business, but my party will continue to work for Ma, Mati and Manisha," he averred.

Mamata's debt nowithstanding, BJD spokesperson P.K. Deb argued that Naveen's use of the phrase should not be seen as an attempt to copy his Bengal counterpart.

"The perspective of Mamata's slogan was different. In our case, it only reflects the priorities that we had set out in our election manifesto. While the welfare of women ( Ma) has been a focus area for us all along, Mati in our context stands for growth of agriculture and uplift of the farming community. Similarly, when we talk of Manisha, we are referring to human resource, especially the youth who remain our priority," said Deb.

However, there are those who think that the chief minister has latched on to Mamata's slogan only for the sake of whipping up popular sentiments in favour of his party.

"More than Ma and Mati, his emphasis seems to be on Manisha which has a larger connotation. He is obviously talking about Odia Manisha and may soon give it a regional tinge making it something akin to Bal Thackeray's slogan of Marathi Manus," said a political observer.

Opposition leaders had their own take on Naveen's latest political slogan. State BJP spokesperson Sajjan Sharma accused the chief minister of not only being insincere but also lacking in original ideas.

"He can't even coin an original slogan. He had to borrow it from Mamata. And what Ma, Mati, Manisha is he talking about? Women are being humiliated daily and farmers are committing suicide. The common man is crying for succour," said Sharma.

Former state Congress president Jaydev Jena was equally harsh on the chief minister. "Their respect for Ma is obvious from the fact that rape cases have become common occurrence in the state, while Mati (land) is being plundered by the mining mafia with impunity. As for Manisha (people), thousands of impoverished people are migrating to other states in search of jobs. His slogan is the cruel joke," said Jena.