Bhubaneswar, Oct 4: The office of former Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday said no political issue was discussed when he met Odisha Governor Raghubar Das a week ago at the Raj Bhavan here.
The statement from Naidu’s office came a day after the opposition BJD alleged that the Odisha Raj Bhavan had turned out to be a ‘war room’ for the BJP ahead of the Jharkhand elections.
There is speculation that Raghubar Das, former Jharkhand Chief Minister, may return to active politics.
The former Vice-President and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma met Odisha Governor on September 27. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi was also there. Sarma is also the BJP’s co-in-charge for the Jharkhand assembly election.
In a post on X, Naidu’s office said it had been a courtesy call.
“No political motives should be ascribed to this courtesy call and dragging the Office of the former Vice President of India into a political controversy of this nature is patently unfair,” the post read.
Naidu’s office further said that the former Vice President was in Bhubaneswar to attend the convocation of Asian School of Business Management (ASBM) as chief guest and it was scheduled months ahead.
“As per protocol, the former Vice President stays at Raj Bhavan and it is customary for the Governor and other dignitaries to call on the former VP as a courtesy,” the post said.
