Nothing wrong in Patnaik meeting PM: RJD, Cong

Patna: Two days after his meeting with Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar in Bhubaneswar, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik met PM Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Thursday.
However, Mahagathbandhan allies in Bihar — Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress — said Patnaik’s meeting with the PM would not send any wrong message to Nitish’s mission of uniting the opposition parties ahead of the Lok Sabha elections next year.
“It is not the first time that the Odisha CM has met the PM. In fact, on a few occasions, Patnaik has even supported the BJP. He is neither pro nor anti-BJP,” RJD national vice-president Shivanand Tiwari said.
Tiwari said the Odisha CM always opts the middle path.
“He is the son of Biju Patnaik who always supported liberal politics. The Odisha CM is seeing the situation in the country. It is no way possible that he will join hands with the BJP,” Tiwari said.
Congress state president Akhilesh Prasad Singh said all CMs meet the PM and take up the issues concerning their respective states. “Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot had also met the PM a day before. There is nothing wrong in such a meeting,” Singh said.
Nitish had met Patnaik in Bhubaneswar on May 9. While political experts said the meeting was part of Nitish’s effort to bring all the non-BJP parties on the same platform, Patnaik and the Bihar CM had said that they had not discussed any alliances.
Asked about the outcome of Nitish’s recent meeting with Patnaik, JD(U) national spokesperson Rajib Ranjan said, “Nitish has been meeting the leaders of different political parties. He is getting a very good response from them. Since Nitish has a very clean image, leaders of many political parties are coming forward to meet him and discuss the opposition unity. Most leaders have openly supported Nitish’s move, except Patnaik.”
Ranjan added, “BJP is very shaky seeing the opposition unity moves and the likely verdict in Karnataka. People of the country are closely watching the fast-moving political developments. People understand that things can be changed now.”