BHUBANESWAR: Even as the State BJP celebrated the elevation of Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to the cabinet rank with the portfolios of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, the BJD camp was subdued in its reaction.
The promotion of Pradhan to cabinet rank will not only boost the morale of the State BJP leaders and workers ahead of the three-day visit of national president Amit Shah to the Capital City from September 6, his elevation has also given a clear indication about the BJP’s focus on Odisha with the objective of winning next Assembly election. However, several BJD leaders maintained that Pradhan’s promotion will not have any impact on the regional party.
In a tweet, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik congratulated all ministers after the swearing-in ceremony. “Congratulations to all ministers on swearing-in. My best wishes & looking forward to support & cooperation for Odisha,” he said.
Former minister and BJD Rajya Sabha MP Prasanna Acharya said there is not much difference between a Minister of State with independent charge and a Cabinet Minister. Such reshuffle and elevation of ministers take place under all governments, he said and added that there were also many union cabinet ministers from Odisha in the past. He, however, said any Odia becoming a Cabinet Minister is welcome.
BJD spokesperson Prashant Nanda told a private television channel that only time will tell how far Odisha will be benefited from Dharmendra Pradhan’s promotion. “It remains to be seen if he will work towards Odisha’s development. We expect that he will work for the State and benefit of Odia people,” Nanda said.
Another spokesperson Sameer Dash said during the last three years, Odisha has not benefited on any issue, be it the Mahanadi river water dispute with Chhattisgarh and construction of Polavaram Dam by Andhra Pradesh Government. “We do not expect much now,” he said.