Now, Naveen to evaluate MPs’ performance

Bhubaneswar: Continuing with his advisories to party colleagues and elected representatives, BJD president and chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday asked his MPs to apprise him of the issues raised by them in Parliament and submit bimonthly reports on the steps taken to resolve them.
“I will review these reports regularly and give you suggestions on various issues. I will suggest ways in which you can work wholeheartedly for the development of our state and the welfare of its people,” Naveen wrote to his MPs. The reports have to be submitted by the 10th of the month, starting August.
Naveen, in his letter (a copy of which was seen by TOI), also hailed the BJD’s women members in Lok Sabha. He said he was touched by the way the women MPs raised various issues regarding the state’s interest in their maiden speeches.
The BJD had reserved 33 per cent seats (seven of total 21) for women in the recent Lok Sabha election. Five of the seven women candidates won from their seats.
This is Naveen’s fourth such directive in two months since taking charge as chief minister for a fifth successive term. Earlier, he had had interactions with bureaucrats, first-time legislators and his cabinet colleagues in which he advised them to be more people friendly and pay closer attention to public issues to help improve governance. He also advised his ministers to go on extensive tours in their constituencies and take direct feedback from people about the pace of implementation of government schemes and development programmes.
On his party’s resounding victory in the assembly elections and winning highest numbers of seat in the Lok Sabha polls, the BJD president said the mandate shows the party has high accountability both at the centre and in the state.
Naveen also exuded confidence that the new team of MPs — a mix of both new and experienced leaders — would work for the state’s interest.
EoM