BHUBANESWAR: Making a departure from the usual speeches by political leaders, chief minister and BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik Tuesday asked partymen to lead a simple life and serve the people.
Addressing the 20th foundation day celebrations of the BJD at Puri, the chief minister said that BJD leaders and workers should not talk much, they should work hard to retain the confidence of people. "Fulfil the promises given to the people to gain their confidence," he said.
"The success of the last 20 years has created new challenges before the BJD. We will have to overcome the challenges to make Odisha the number of state in the country," he said.
Stating that there will be no compromise with the interests of Odisha, the chief minister said the BJD's fight over the Mahanadi dispute, Polavaram dam issue and increase in the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy will continue.
Stating that the priority before the party and government has always been development of Odisha, Naveen claimed
that Odisha has surged forward in all sectors during the 17-year rule of BJD.
The chief minister also referred to the success of the state government in tackling natural disasters including cyclones like Phailin which brought laurels for the state. Besides, the state government also successfully organised Asian Athletics Championships at Bhubaneswar in a very short notice, he said and said transparency and honesty have remained the foundation stones of the government.
Ministers, MPs, MLAs and senior leaders from across the state government attended the meet which was attended by more than 30,000 party workers and elected representatives.