The PM made the remarks during a rally at Phulbani under Kandhamal parliamentary constituency earlier in the day. Underlining that Odisha’s strength is 100 times that of Gujarat, Modi asked as to why the state is backward while Gujarat made rapid progress. He said he needed only five years to make Odisha the number one state in the country.

Naveen, in a video message, said that the people of Odisha know what he remembers and what he doesn’t and the BJD will form the government again with the blessings of Lord Jagannath and the people of the state”.

He also took a dig at the PM’s claim that a BJP CM will take oath on June 10. “Not June 10, BJP cannot win the hearts of people in the next 10 years,” said the BJD president. The CM asked the PM if he remembers the promises he made during the 2014 and 2019 polls. “Even though Odia is a classical language, you forgot about the language. You have allotted Rs 1,000 crore for Sanskrit language but zero to Odia. I had sent two proposals seeking classical recognition to Odissi music and you have rejected them twice. Why has not a single eminent Odia personality been honoured with Bharat Ratna,” he asked.

The PM, who is believed to have cordial relations with Naveen, took a dig at him saying he had “no knowledge about the state”. “Naveen Babu is the CM of Odisha for so many years… I want to challenge Naveen Babu…You make him (Naveen) stand anywhere and tell him to spell out the names of districts (of Odisha) and their headquarters without paper. The CM, who cannot tell names of the districts without paper and their headquarters… can he understand your plight? Can you leave your children’s fate in such hands?” he said.Naveen also taunted the PM over his promises like doubling farmers’ income, coastal highway for Odisha, not increasing royalty on coal. He said remembering Odisha only during elections will be of no use. The CM also questioned Modi’s promises such as controlling price rise, providing 2 crore jobs and increasing mobile networks in Odisha.