Naveen ‘daydreaming’ about becoming PM: Chandan Mitra

OST Bureau

Bhubaneswar, Jan 5:

Terming speculation about a possible Third Front government at the Centre after the coming Lok Sabha elections as an ‘illusion’, senior BJP leader Chandan Mitra on Sunday said Naveen Patnaik is ‘daydreaming’ about becoming Prime Minister of the country.

“The third front is an illusion. The regional parties are fighting with each other to lay claim to the Prime Minister’s post. AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and JD (U)’s Nitish Kumar are all dreaming of becoming Prime Minister. Similarly, Naveen Patnaik too is also daydreaming to become Prime Minister, but it will never materialize,” said Mitra at a press conference here this morning.

Launching into a scathing attack at Naveen Patnaik for his alleged involvement in the multi-crore mining scam in the state, the BJP Pravari for Odisha wondered why the Odisha Chief Minister was  scared of Narendra Modi.

“Why has he never targeted the Congress and Manmohan Singh?” he asked and then went on to provide the answer himself, saying; “Because, both of them are hand in glove to bail out each other. He only targets BJP because he is scared of Modi.”

Replying to a question about his party’s silence on the mining loot while it was in government in alliance with the BJD, Mitra said; “We were powerless in the coalition government. Even though corruption occurred during the period, we remained silent to adhere to the coalition dharma. However, we opposed it inside the cabinet and outside, but not in public. We informed Naveen Patnaik about the consequences. But our effort went in vain.”

With the Modi wave growing in strength across the country as well as in the state, the BJP Rajya Sabha member ruled out a pre-poll alliance with any party, including the BJD. However, he did not rule out a post-poll alliance if ‘the need arises’. “The central leadership of the party would take a call on it of such a situation does arise,” he said.