Bhadrak, May 30: Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan raised serious concerns about the condition and treatment of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, stating that access to his residence, Naveen Niwas, is heavily restricted.

Pradhan claimed that only one person is allowed to enter Naveen Niwas, describing the restrictions as extreme.

"As per my information, no one is allowed to enter Naveen Niwas except one person (VK Pandian). Not even a leaf can move without his permission. There is no telephone in his room, nor is there any Odia channel in his room. I say with responsibility that the Odia employee at Naveen Niwas himself is saying that, What condition has been made of the Chief Minister of Odisha?," Pradhan said.

Pradhan assured that changes are imminent, stating, "Nothing to fear, on June 10 BJP government will be formed. PM Modi has said that a committee will be formed and within a year it will be assessed as to who is responsible for the health of Naveen Babu."
Pradhan further criticized the treatment of Patnaik, mentioning public incidents.

"Publicly, sometimes kicking his feet in public, forcibly holding his hand. Did the Prime Minister say anything wrong? And within a year, all the troubles that have happened to him (the Chief Minister of Odisha) will be investigated," Pradhan said.

These remarks follow a viral video showing the Chief Minister's close aide and BJD leader VK Pandian grabbing Patnaik's trembling hand during an election rally, prompting speculation and concern about Patnaik's health.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also addressed the issue during a public gathering in Mayurbhanj, Odisha on Wednesday and said that after coming to power in the state, the BJP would inquire into the reason behind the BJD chief's deteriorating health.

"Nowadays all the well-wishers of Naveen Babu are very worried. They are very worried to see how Naveen Babu's health has deteriorated so much in the last year. Over the years, whenever people close to Naveen Babu meet me, they discuss Naveen Babu's health. They tell me that Naveen Babu is no longer able to do anything on his own. People who have been close to Naveen Babu for a long time believe that there could be a conspiracy behind his deteriorating health," PM Modi said.

Dismissing the 'concerns' expressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the health of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) supremo said he is in perfect health and has been campaigning in the state for the last one month.

This comes after PM Modi said there is a "conspiracy" behind the deterioration of Naveen Patnaik's health and said he would form a committee to inquire about the Chief Minister's medical history.

Earlier, the Prime Minister also questioned if there was a conspiracy behind Patnaik's deteriorating health.

"The question is, is there any conspiracy behind Naveen Babu's ill health? This is the right of the people of Odisha to know. Is there any involvement of that lobby in this which is enjoying power in Odisha behind the scenes in the name of Naveen Babu? It is important to uncover this mystery. Therefore, after the formation of the BJP government in Odisha on June 10, our government will form a special committee and will investigate why Naveen Babu's health is suddenly deteriorating," he said.

Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Modi, Naveen Patnaik said that if he was so concerned, all he had to do was to call him and enquire about his health.

The assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Odisha are taking place simultaneously, in four phases, from May 13 to June 1. The counting of votes will be held on June 4.

Forty-two assembly constituencies in Odisha went to the polls on May 25.

Naveen Patnaik (77) has been serving as the Chief Minister of Odisha since 2000 and is the second-longest serving CM of any Indian state. He is seeking a record sixth term in power in the state.

The 2024 Indian general election in Odisha is being held in four phases to elect 21 members of the 18th Lok Sabha.

In the last assembly elections in 2019, the BJD won 112 out of 146 seats. BJP won 23 seats, and Congress got nine seats.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJD mopped up the lion's share of the electoral spoils, with the BJP and the Congress following behind. The BJD won 12 seats, the BJP finished a close second at 8, and the Congress bagged just a lone seat.

(ANI inputs)

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