‘Very unfortunate’: Naveen Patnaik on Amit Shah’s Ambedkar comments

Bhubaneswar, Dec 26 (PTI) BJD chief Naveen Patnaik on Thursday said Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks regarding BR Ambedkar were “very unfortunate”.

Patnaik, the former CM of Odisha, was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the BJD’s 28th foundation day function.

“I think the Union home minister’s remark on such an illustrious figure as Dr BR Ambedkar is very unfortunate,” he said.

Patnaik said his party supports elections through ballot papers and is yet to take a stand on ‘One Nation One Election’ as it is examining the modalities.

He said the complaint filed by the BJD with the Election Commission, claiming “unusual” variances in the votes cast in the 2024 Lok Sabha and Odisha assembly elections, “must be examined carefully”.

Taking a dig at the state’s ruling party over the matter, he said, “I do not know why the BJP is getting so excited about it. Nobody has accused them of anything yet. It seems to be an example of one person claiming to be innocent even as he is not accused of committing any wrong.”

Asked about his successor, Patnaik said, “Well, I am here for a long time. I have not thought about this.”

He claimed the BJP came to power in Odisha by “spreading lies and misleading people”.

“Even after so many lies, the BJD could manage to get more votes than the BJP,” he said.

“I admit that the BJD could not successfully counter their lies, their negative campaign and false narratives on social media. Now, the people are realising that they came to power by making false promises,” he added.

Patnaik said that after the first six months of the BJP government in the state, people were annoyed with skyrocketing prices of essential items.