Jual Oram clears air on BJP-BJD 'alliance'

BHUBANESWAR: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked chief minister Naveen Patnaik on demonetisation, Union minister Jual Oram said Naveen being praised by Modi and company must not be seen as a sign that the BJP and its estranged ally BJD are coming closer.
Trying to ensure that the bonhomie in Delhi doesn't undermine the party's aggressive posturing as principal adversary of BJD in the state, Oram in a series of tweets said the praise must be seen in their specific contexts.
"Let us not read too much into what PM and HM (home minister Rajnath Singh) said praising Naveen Babu. It is in the context of fighting against black money/demonetisation," Oram tweeted.
Clarification from Oram, a former state BJP president and the saffron party's only Lok Sabha member from Odisha, comes in the wake of similar words of comfort for Naveen coming from Rajnath and finance minister Arun Jaitley before the PM endorsing Naveen in the last around two weeks.
"Besides Naveen Babu, Nitish Kumar also supported whole heartedly that is reciprocated by PM and HM. It (in) no way dilutes party stand on (BJD in) Odisha," he added.
During a BJP parliamentary party meeting in New Delhi on Friday, Modi thanked Naveen and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar for their support to demonetisation. Addressing a BJP rally in Uttar Pradesh on December 9, Rajnath had similarly praised 'honest' Naveen for the latter's stand on black money.
During an investors' meet in Bhubaneswar, Jaitley praised Odisha's progress under Naveen, apart from having lunch with the Odisha chief minister at Naveen's residence.
"BJP president Amit Shah's speech in Odisha is no way affected (read diluted) by recent praise by PM and HM of Naveen Patnaik in context of black money," the tribal affairs minister tweeted.
During a rally in Bhubaneswar on November 25, Shah hit out Naveen alleging Odisha didn't make any progress under him and called for regime change in the state in 2019 enthusing party cadre ahead of the forthcoming panchayat elections in February.
When contacted by TOI, Oram said, "I wanted to clarify because sections of media wrongly tried to portray the gestures of PM and HM as sign of changing political situation in Odisha. They just said thank you to Naveen specifically for the latter's support to demonetisation. That in no way changes BJP's stated political strategy to fight against the Naveen regime here," he said apparently to weed out confusion among party cadres in the run up to the crucial rural polls.
The BJD too echoed similar views. "Our stand on demonetisation is based on principles and conviction that black money must be weeded out. It doesn't reflect the BJD's political position," said BJD spokesperson Pratap Keshari Deb.
The relationship between the BJP and the BJD, which shared power in Odisha from 2000 to 2009, is often part of political discourses. The latest round gained pace after oil minister and BJP poster boy in Odisha, Dharmendra Pradhan, effusive praise on Naveen's simple life on November 6.
"One thing I learnt from Naveen babu is how to contend your life. He is an ideal for politicians in the country for his simplicity in personal lifestyle...His simplicity is known from his dress and the vehicle he uses," Pradhan had said.