Chief minister Jayalalithaa on Friday said that it was up to the Centre to accept or reject the suggestion of Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik that she should head the proposed sub-committee of CMs on National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC).

“What I think is not important. This was the suggestion made to the Central government, more particularly the ministry of home affairs... It is up to them to accept or reject the suggestion,” she told reporters in reply to a query on Mr Patnaik’s suggestion.

When asked whether the upcoming Presidential poll was discussed in the meeting, Ms Jayalalithaa replied in the negative.

“If we had discussed anything like that, we would have told you,” Ms Jayalalithaa said after a brief meeting with Mr Patnaik in her Poes Garden residence.

Terming Mr Patnaik her brother and his father Biju Patnaik a “father figure” to her, she said, “There was a natural synergy between myself and Biju Patnaikji....

Biju Patnaik left behind a legacy of respect, cooperation and mutual affection. This legacy is reflected in the bond that I continue to share with Naveen Patnaikji.”

Mr Patnaik said Ms Jayalalithaa was a “long-standing family friend.” He said, “Jayalalithaa was like a daughter to my late father and hence she is like my younger sister.

” Mr Patnaik’s two-day visit, his first to the city, assumed significance in the backdrop of forthcoming Presidential election and opposition by states like TN and Odisha to the Centre’s proposed NCTC. However, AIADMK supremo dismissed the meeting as just exchanging of pleasantries.

CM eyes good relations with states

Chief minister J. Jayalalithaa on Friday said in the present system of multi-level governance, harmonious relations with other states are indispensable and they could work together in areas like law and order.

Laying the foundation stone for Odisha Bhavan in the city on the occasion of the 76th Utkal Dibas, Ms Jayalalithaa said as the world gets metaphorically smaller, it was impossible to imagine that states could survive or sustain themselves on a stand-alone basis.

“There is a definite and very high level of inter-dependence emerging in a situation wherein we need to act together and prosper together.

The areas which come into the mental radar would include water, environment, transport, tourism, agriculture and law and order.

Law and order becomes an important matter in the wake of terrorist activities, drug-trafficking and general maintenance of public order,” she said.

Pointing out that the Tamil Nadu government was committed to thrust the state into the top legion of economic growth, as envisaged in the Vision 2023 document, Ms Jayalalithaa said Tamil Nadu and Odisha shared similar trends in statistics, of sustained growth in the industrial and agricultural sectors.

“It is imperative to understand that growth-transmitting linkages need to be established between our two states.

I am sure that both states will emerge as partners in all spheres of development,” she said. Referring to the land allotted in Velachery for the construction of Odisha Bhavan, Ms Jayalalithaa assured her government’s support and expressed the hope that it would be constructed soon.