No deal with BJP: Naveen Pattnaik

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday said there was no deal between the BJD government in the state with BJP-led NDA government at the Centre as alleged by opposition Congress."Absolutely untruthful and incorrect. Certainly, there is no deal with BJP. We expect all support from the central government for the development of the state," Patnaik told reporters on his return to the state after a week-long visit to Delhi.

Patnaik, who is also the BJD president, said this in response to the allegation made by leader of opposition Narasingha Mishra of Congress. Earlier Union Minister and BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan, had also refuted the allegation made by Congress. He had, however, said the state government and the Centre have been cooperating each other for the development of Odisha.

Mishra, while addressing a press conference here on May 7, had raised question on Patnaik's 'mysterious silence' over reduced central allocation to Odisha while it had made 'wild' allegations of negligence despite enormous amount of assistance to implement all the central schemes in Odisha throughout the tenure of UPA rule at the Centre.