Behind Naveen’s soft exterior lies a shrewd, clinical politician who is not necessarily nice. So the outrage over Iyer-Mitra’s detention should be directed against Naveen.
Baijayant 'Jay' Panda, who had flown in his own helicopter along with Abhijit Iyer-Mitra and another Delhi-based journalist last week, had strong alibis backed with documentary evidence to disprove the police case.
A day ahead of the Rajya Sabha deputy chairman election, PM Modi called Patnaik and there was little doubt that the “phone-a-friend diplomacy” had worked.
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