Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed his honor in serving the people of Odisha for the past 24 years, pledging to continue his public service. He thanked the public for their constant support, faith and trust. CM also defended V K Pandian, highlighting his significant contributions to the state’s development in health, education, and sports. He lamented the negative remarks about Pandian, emphasizing that such criticisms are unfortunate given his dedicated service to the public. CM assured that his work for Odisha and its people would persist, regardless of challenges.
CM added that, “in a democracy you either win or you lose. I have always saved the four and half crore people of Odisha and my family and I’ll continue to serve them in whichever way I can.”
CM also stated that, “I have heard about the criticism of Mr. Pandian, this is unfortunate. As an officer he did excellent in many fields in the last ten years, helping with the two cyclones, covid 19 pandemic in our state.”