Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the development of the country and its fortune are directly linked with the development of national highways. He said this at an official function organised at Lok Seba Bhawan in Bhubaneswar this morning. He also laid the foundation stone for the 4-laning of the Kamakhyanagar-Duburi section of NH 53 and the widening and strengthening of Moter to Banner Ladugaon Road in Kalahandi district. He further said the Centre has done a lot of work for infrastructure development in the 9-years. Mr Shah said Maoist activities have greatly been contained in the country including Odisha due to proactive steps of the Centre. The Union Home Minister said the Odisha government has always supported the Centre on the issue of Maoist activities. He also lauded the Odisha government for being a role model in disaster management and containing Maoist activities. 

Observing the fourth anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370, the Home Minister on 5th August 2023 lauded the role of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for revoking Article 370. He said it was this day in 2019, when Article 370 granting special status to Jammu and Kashmir was revoked and credited the Prime Minister for resolving the mess created in Jammu and Kashmir. He said all the people of the country are grateful to the Prime Minister for this historic decision.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was also present at the meeting.

The Union Home Minister is also scheduled to attend a few other official meetings and meet the newly appointed BJP office bearers in the afternoon to discuss strategies for the 2024 Lok Sabha and State assembly elections.