Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday said that he was in good health and campaigning for the Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections for the past one month.
"He (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) has stated publicly earlier that I am his good friend. All he had to do was pick up a telephone and ask me about my health. But a number of BJP people from Odisha and Delhi are spreading rumours about my health. Let me assure the PM that I am in perfect health and I have been campaigning in the state for the last one month," Patnaik said.
Patnaik's statement came hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi in three back-to-back election rallies stated that the Odisha Chief Minister was not in a state to do his routine duties.
Modi, in his rally just days ahead of the last phase of the Lok Sabha election, also said that well-wishers of Naveen babu are worried over his deteriorating health condition. "It has been worsening over the last one year. Is there a conspiracy behind this? Is the lobby that is currently running the Patnaik government on his behalf responsible for it? If the BJP forms the government in Odisha after the ongoing assembly elections, it would constitute a special committee to ascertain the reason behind the deterioration of Patnaik's health," Modi said.
He also added that the "mystery behind Naveen babu's deteriorating health condition should be revealed as the people of the state have the right to know the reason."
