BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will not attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his team in New Delhi on Thursday.
The Chief Minister’s Office said Naveen won’t be able to attend the grand event since he will be required to remain present in the State Assembly as the Leader of the House when the newly-elected MLAs take oath on the day. Besides, his presence is necessary for election of the Speaker of the 16th session of the State Assembly on June 1 (Saturday).
The Chief Minister, who took oath of office on Wednesday, has conveyed his good wishes to the Prime Minister ahead of the swearing-in ceremony. Earlier in the day, both the Prime Minister and Chief Minister exchanged greetings on social media over each other’s swearing-in function. Modi took to the micro-blogging site Twitter to congratulate the Chief Minister and extend cooperation for Odisha’s progress.
“Congratulations to Shri Naveen Patnaik Ji on taking oath as Odisha’s Chief Minister. Best wishes to him and his team in fulfilling the people’s aspirations. I assure complete cooperation from the centre in working for Odisha’s progress,” the Prime Minister tweeted.Naveen also thanked the Prime Minister for his greetings and said he looks forward to work with him to take new Odisha to greater heights.