BJD leader demolishes additional structures built at home; row erupts

Pranab Prakash Das was Das, the Biju Janata Dal’s organisational secretary, was a three-time legislator from Jajpur. He contested from Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat and lost in 2024

Published on: Jun 25, 2024, 21:33:27 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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BHUBANESWAR: A controversy has erupted in Odisha over senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Pranab Prakash Das demolishing two unauthorised structures built at his official residence over the years with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accusing him of violating the law all these years..

BJD leader demolishes additional structures built at home; row erupts

Das, the BJD’s organisational secretary, was a three-time legislator from Jajpur in the previous assembly, but contested the Lok Sabha election from Sambalpur against Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan and lost. He has been told to vacate his official residence, allotted to him as a lawmaker, by July 15.

State government officials said they received complaints about demolition activities at the BJD leader’s house. A team visited the site and found two unauthorised structures and the debris.

“Such construction was unauthorised and should not have been built. We will check our records and see who allowed these constructions,” said an official of the general administration department. The official added that the demolition activity started soon after the process to get the premises vacated was started.

BJP spokesperson Anil Biswal said the demolition revealed not just the BJD’s corruotion but also its abuse of power. “Italian tiles were used for the unauthorised construction. Besides a Spanish-style swimming pool was also built. How can such opulence be justified? It just shows how the BJD has been ruling for the last two decades,” said Biswal.

Pranab Prakash Das said government quarters have to be returned in the same condition in which they are allotted. “As I was the organisational secretary of the party, many of our party leaders and workers were coming to meet me. So, a temporary extension was built at the official residence to accommodate them (which is now being removed),” said Das.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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