Bhubaneswar: In an attempt to strike a chord with the children, chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday attended a children's festival that saw more than 50,000 students congregate and recite Kantakabi Laxmikanta Mohapatra's "Bande Utkala Janani", which is also the state's anthem.

Though Naveen does not approve of most of the policies of Narendra Modi's party, he rushed to attend the children's festival organised by the BJP-backed Bharatiya Shiksha Vikash Sansthan at the Baramunda ground. In line with BJP's political belief, the children were dressed as Bharat Maata.

"For Naveen, a child is a child. Whether he is reading in a madrassa or Sishu Mandir, run by a BJP-affiliated organisation," said a senior BJD leader. Naveen also talked freely with the students and allowed them to come to the dais and take pictures with him. During his address to the students, Naveen urged them to be good human beings and try to be successful in their life. He also urged them to uphold the glory of the state and asked them to work for the development of the country and state.

Nearly 2.88 lakh students study in 1,037 schools run by organisation.

This event comes after Naveen's Children's Day interaction with students. The November 14 programme was televised and watched by over 40 lakh school students across the state.

Students were allowed to sit near Naveen and he had announced the Mukhyamanrti Medhabruti (chief minister's meritorious scholarship) scheme to encourage children to perform well in the matriculation examination. The scheme offer Rs 5,000 each to 40,000 students for scoring good marks in Class X examination.