Naidu Responds to BJD’s War Room Jibe, Says It Is ‘Unfair’

Bhubaneswar: Former Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu has termed as ‘unfair’ the allegations of the Biju Janata Dal that Odisha Raj Bhawan has been turned into a war room for Jharkhand elections.

“In response to some inaccurate comments by certain politicians as appeared in some media reports, the Office of the former Vice President of India M. Venkaiah Naidu, would like to clarify in unequivocal terms that no political colour should be attributed to his visit to any part of the country in general, and to Bhubaneswar, Odisha recently, in particular,” read a press statement issued on Friday.

The former Vice President of India was in Bhubaneswar to attend the convocation of Asian School of Business Management (ASBM) as chief guest and as per protocol, he stayed at Raj Bhawan. It is customary for the Governor and other dignitaries to make a curtesy call on the former VP.

The statement further said, “We would also like to inform that no politics were discussed in any of these courtesy calls. No political motives should be ascribed to this courtesy call and dragging the Office of the former Vice President of India into a political controversy of this nature, is patently unfair.”
Recently, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma had also met Odisha Governor Raghubar Das triggering speculation about Das returning to active politics in his home state.