India News | Cong MLA Assures CM's Cousin of All Help

Cuttack, Jul 11 (PTI) Congress MLA Mohammed Moquim on Tuesday said he has assured all required help to Dilip Patnaik, the cousin of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

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Moquim, the MLA of the Barabati-Cuttack assembly segment said he visited Dilip Patnaik at Anand Bhavan in the Tulasipur area under his assembly segment jurisdiction in the millennium city after being informed about his illness and bad living condition.

Taking to Twitter, Moquim said: "I went to meet the Hon'ble Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's elder brother and a senior citizen of my constituency, Dilip Patnaik, at his residence. I promised to provide necessary assistance after a discussion with him."

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Moquim said: "I do not want to go into politics. As an elected representative, I have come to look into the matter and he (Dilip) needs help. I would only urge Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to help Dilip Patnaik as he takes care of the 4.5 crore people of Odisha. I am sure the CM will do his best for his brother when he gets information."

Dilip Patnaik is the son of George Patnaik, elder brother of former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik, father of Naveen Patnaik.

Dilip Patnaik has been living in a portion of the Anand Bhavan after his retirement from service around 25 years ago. His sister Rekha is also living with Dilip in Cuttack.

Though Dilip was maintaining a decent life, his financial and health condition become a problem for him after a road mishap. He also regretted lack of support from his cousin Naveen Patnaik.

Dilip told reporters that he was not even contacted or invited by the chief minister when Naveen Patnaik and his brother Prem Patnaik donated a portion of the Anand Bhawan to the state in 2015 to establish a memorial museum and a learning centre.

"We (Dilip and Naveen) have spent good times in Anand Bhavan during childhood. We used to eat, play and sleep together. What hurts the most is that Naveen has not kept any relation with anyone though he is doing a lot for the state," Dilip said.

Dilip's sister Rekha, however, said that Naveen had visited the family after the death of their mother.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)