Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president and Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday addressed all BJD MPs of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha virtually ahead of the Parliament’s monsoon session, commencing on July 18, and asked them to extend their full support to NDA’s presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu.

“The daughter of Odisha, Droupadi Murmu, has been nominated to the highest office of our country. It is indeed a matter of honour and pride for our state. On behalf of the people of Odisha and BJD, we need to extend our full support to her candidature in the presidential election to be held on July 18,” Naveen said.

Naveen also appraised the MPs on his meeting with the prime minister on May 30 in New Delhi during which he had discussed several issues concerning the state’s interest and sought the support of the central government to address these issues.

“I would impress upon all of you to take up all the pending issues with the concerned ministries so that these are sorted out in a time-bound manner,” he said.

Naveen also cited how he had written letters to prime minister on evacuation of 5 lakh metric tonne of surplus fortified parboiled rice from the state”.