BHUBANESWAR: Thousands of party leaders and workers gave a rousing welcome to chief minister and BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik on his return today from New Delhi after getting the Outlook Speakout 2017 best administrator award even as union minister of state for petroleum and natural gas Dharmendra Pradhan described it as a publicity stunt.
Even though the BJD had announced that the celebration for the chief minister winning the award will be a low key affair because of the derailment of the Kalinga Utkal Express near Muzaffarnagar, thousands of party workers and leaders had converged in the capital city from the morning to welcome the chief minister. Youth activists of party also took out a motorcycle rally to celebrate the occasion.
Party activists who gathered outside the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) congratulated and felicitated the chief minister for the achievement after his arrival. Naveen paid floral tributes at the statue of Biju Patnaik before leaving for Naveen Nivas. BJD had made elaborate arrangements to welcome the chief minister. Hoardings and banners had been put up at various places between the airport and Naveen Nivas.
The chief minister dedicated the award to the people of Odisha. "I would like to thank all the people who had come in such a large number to the airport to greet me," he said. Naveen dedicated the award to the people of Odisha and said, "We will continue to strive to make Odisha the number one State in the country.”
However, union minister Pradhan described the best administrator award as a publicity stunt. He said the chief minister's credibility as an administrator has been exposed by the Supreme Court's order on the mining scam in the state.
Agriculture minister Damodar Rout and government chief whip in the assembly Amar Prasad Satpathy, however, said the chief minister has made the state proud by winning the best administrator award. Satpathy said besides party leaders and workers, other people have also congratulated the chief minister for his achievement.