Patnaik may take up special status issue with PM Modi

Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik who is currently on a week-long visit to New Delhi may take up the issue relating to special category status for the state with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is scheduled to meet the PM on Tuesday. This is for the first time the two leaders will have a meeting after the announcement of the election results.

Before leaving for the national capital, Patnaik said he would be discussing with the Prime Minister mainly on the damages caused by cyclone Fani and the central assistance relating to the calamity. However, party sources do not rule out the possibility of the chief minister who is also heading the ruling Biju Janata Dal(BJD) taking up other issues with the Prime Minister including the special category status.

Special category state status for Odisha has been a long-standing demand of the BJD and the regional outfit had made it one of the issues of the elections during the recently concluded assembly and Lok Sabha polls as well as previous two twin polls in the state in 2009 and 2014.

Similar demands made by other states like Andhra Pradesh and Bihar in recent months also provided an opportunity to the Patnaik’s party to keep the issue alive.

On cyclone Fani, the state government had recently prepared the final report on the damages caused by the extremely severe tropical storm in the fourteen coastal, south and northern districts of the state and had sought central assistance of more than Rupees 5000 crores. Patnaik is likely to draw the attention of the prime minister about this.

Observers here also believe that another important issue which may figure during the Modi-Patnaik talk is the election for the post of deputy speaker of the new Lok Sabha. Senior BJD Lok Sabha member Bhatruhari Mahatab’s name was doing the rounds for the important post which was publicly opposed by one of the prominent constituents of the NDA, Shiv Sena. BJD is not part of the NDA.