Patnaik to meet Jaitley in Delhi

Odisha Channel Bureau Bhubaneswar, Nov 3: Amid speculation that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his six-day-long visit to New Delhi from Tuesday, Patnaik said on Monday that he is scheduled to meet Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley during his trip.Though there was no official confirmation till Monday, many media reports had already claimed that Patnaik was likely to meet Modi to take up various demands of the State.Patnaik, however, told journalists at the State Secretariat on Monday that he would meet Jaitley to hand over a memorandum seeking financial assistance from the Centre for the people affected by cyclone Hudhud in the recent past, and also discuss other issues.The question of Patnaik meeting with Modi yet again had led to speculation that the Chief Minister was apparently trying his best to avert a CBI probe into the mining scam when the CBI was already probing the chit fund scam.Patnaik has already met Modi twice after the latter became Prime Minister.Sources, however, indicated that Patnaik is likely to discuss with the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders in New Delhi about the possibility of the Biju Janata Dal extending support to the ruling National Democratic Alliance in the Rajya Sabha.