Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has responded with characteristic calmness to BJP criticisms regarding his health and close aide VK Pandian’s efforts to conceal his trembling hands. Patnaik, 77, who has been increasingly targeted by the BJP amid concurrent assembly and Lok Sabha elections, dismissed the issue as a non-issue manufactured by his opponents.
“I believe the BJP, known for turning non-issues into issues, is now discussing my hands. This will certainly not work,” Patnaik stated.
The controversy arose after VK Pandian was caught on camera trying to hide Patnaik’s trembling hands during a speech. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was quick to capitalize on the incident, insinuating that Pandian was trying to exert undue control over Odisha’s governance. Sarma shared the video on X (formerly Twitter), expressing concern over the influence of the retired bureaucrat from Tamil Nadu.
“This is a deeply distressing video. Shri VK Pandian ji is even controlling the hand movements of Shri Naveen Babu. I shudder to imagine the level of control a retired ex-bureaucrat from Tamil Nadu is currently exercising over the future of Odisha! BJP is determined to give back the reins of Odisha to the people of the State,” Sarma’s post read.
Last week, Union Home Minister Amit Shah also spotlighted Patnaik’s health, suggesting the five-time Chief Minister should retire due to his “advanced age and health issues,” and promising a younger leader from Odisha if the BJP is voted to power.
Patnaik responded sharply to Shah’s remarks. “There is a limit to the lies the BJP can tell. As you can see, I am in very good health, and I have been campaigning for around a month all over the state,” he told ANI.
Patnaik’s aide, VK Pandian, has been a particular target for the BJP. Without naming him, Shah referred to a “Tamil babu” dominating Odisha’s political scene and asserted that the BJP would liberate the state from this “babu raj.” Recently, Pandian outlined nine “self goals” of the BJP, which he claimed would ensure the Biju Janata Dal remains in power.
