BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday reached Rome, beginning his six-day tour of Italy. He was received by India’s ambassador to Italy Neena Malhotra in Rome. The Chief Minister is likely to meet the Pope on Wednesday and also visit the headquarters of the World Food Programme (WFP) to share Odisha’s transformational journey in food security and disaster management.
The BJP and Congress, however, targeted Naveen for not including any minister in the high-level delegation led by him to take part in the investors meet at Dubai on June 27. Alleging that the Chief Minister does not have confidence in his ministers, senior BJP leader Pradip Purohit said that the Industries Minister should have accompanied him to the investors’ meeting instead of the Industries Secretary. Congress MLA Suresh Kumar Routray also maintained that Naveen should have included ministers in the delegation. However, Revenue Minister Pramila Mallik dismissed the criticism and said that the CM is capable of handling the situation himself.