Bhubaneswar, Jan. 18: Former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda today praised chief minister Naveen Patnaik for performing well in the state.
"He is an efficient leader. He managed natural disasters well in the state without the support of the central government," said Deve Gowda, who had come to the state to attend a programme of the Sankaracharya Mutt. The former Prime Minister was referring to the evacuation of one million people during Phailin in 2013.
Former chief minister Biju Patnaik, father of Naveen, had a close relationship with Deve Gowda. Biju played a key role during the formation of the United Front Government in the 1990s and in the selection of Deve Gowda as Prime Minister.
Congress leader and former Union home minister Shivraj Patil, senior BJP leader and a known Naveen critic Bijoy Mohapatra, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Prasad Harichandan and Puri king Dibyasingh Deb also attended the daylong programme in Puri, organised by the Govardhan peeth of Shankaracharya. A new temple of Goddess Bimala was being established at the mutt.
The new temple will be opened on the mutt premises on January 20. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and BJP president Amit Shah, too, are scheduled to attend the three-day function.
Incidentally, Naveen has also been invited to the function on Thursday. There are speculations about the chief minister's visit to Puri. Official sources today indicated that Naveen might not attend the meeting in view of sharp criticism made by both the Puri king and Shankaracharya. Their comments had embarrassed the state government since they pertained to the Nabakalebara festival in 2015 and the rath yatra.
The two had been expressing critical views on the Naveen Patnaik government for not taking appropriate measures to facilitate smooth functioning of the temple administration.
The Puri king, at a recent event, had gone to the extent of saying that the temple was being neglected because Lord Jagannath did not have voting rights. Shankaracharya had been criticising the temple administration and a section of sevayats for neglecting his importance in temple affairs.
