Cyclone Biparjoy: Amit Shah’s Odisha visit put on hold

Bhubaneswar: Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s scheduled Odisha visit on June 17 has been put on hold in view of Cyclone Biparjoy’s possible landfall in Gujarat on Thursday, a senior BJP leader said here.

As both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah were directly monitoring the cyclone which is expected to make landfall near Jakhau Port in Gujarat on Thursday, it would not be possible for the Union Home Minister to visit Odisha on Saturday, he said.

The date of Shah’s visit will be decided soon, Odisha BJP general secretary Prithviraj Harichandan said on Wednesday.

He, however, said there is no change in BJP president J P Nadda’s scheduled visit to Kalahandi in Odisha on June 22.

The BJP’s Odisha unit has planned a month-long public outreach programme, which included public rallies by the party’s top leaders such as Modi, Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Nadda, he said.