Prez, VP, PM greet Odisha CM on his 75th birthday
Bhubaneswar: Birthday wishes poured in from across the country as Odisha's five-time Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik turned 75 on Friday.
President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished Patnaik over phone on the occasion.
The PM also took to Twitter to greet the BJD chief.
"Birthday greetings to Odisha CM Shri Naveen Patnaik Ji. Praying for his long and healthy life," he tweeted.
Patnaik had said on Thursday that he would skip celebrations this year, in view of the COVID-19 crisis. He advised his party members, supporters and well-wishers to help those in need to mark his birthday.
Leaders cutting across party lines, including Union Minister Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari and Dharmendra Pradhan, extended their greetings to the chief minister on Friday.
His counterparts in Tripura, Nagaland and Madhya Pradesh also prayed for his health and long life.
Artist Sudarsan Pattnaik created a sand sculpture of the CM to wish him on his birthday.
Earlier, too, Patnaik had skipped birthday celebrations of multiple occasions, including last year, when Cyclone Fani had struck the state, leaving behind a trail of destruction.
Patnaik had joined politics in 1997 after the demise of his father and former CM Biju Patnaik.
He took over the reins of Odisha in 2000 and had since held the post of the chief minister.
