Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday not only shared the dais but also heaped praises on each other.
During his two-day visit to the state, Union Home Minister Shah inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) projects in Bhubaneswar. On this occasion, Shah and Patnaik were seen sharing the dais.
While addressing the gathering, the Union Home Minister praised Naveen Patnaik twice, firstly for curbing the naxal menace and secondly, for disaster management.
"From 2015-2019, there has been a 30% decrease in the number of naxal incidents, a 32% decrease in encounters, and a 56% decrease in death of security personnel. I thank the Odisha government and Naveen babu for extending cooperation to curb Naxalism," Shah said.
Shah also admitted that in disaster management, the Odisha government has shown the way to the Centre.
“Disaster is a big problem in Odisha. I would like to thank Naveen Ji once again for their help in implementing the central government’s every disaster management initiative on the ground. And Odisha government has also implemented scores of new disaster management initiatives and showed the way to the center. If both governments work jointly, natural disasters could be tackled. Once Odisha used to be in the news for damages and casualties caused by the cyclone, but now it is known for zero-casualties during cyclones,” he added.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik too didn’t let the opportunity go and extolled the centre.
“I thank the government of India for its support to the state in its development agenda. I once again welcome Union Home Minister Amit Shah to Odisha,” Patnaik said.