Odisha BJP leader attacks Patnaik, says his aide hijacked governance system

Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi said the BJD seeks votes in Patnaik’s name but VK Pandian takes over the government after elections

Published on: May 1, 2024, 22:00:59 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Bhubaneswar: Bharatiya Janata Party leader (BJP) Aparajita Sarangi on Wednesday took a swipe at chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s trusted lieutenant VK Pandian, alleging the bureaucrat-turned-politician had hijacked the governance system and the people’s mandate in Odisha.

Odisha chief minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik files his nomination from Hinjili constituency in Ganjam district on Tuesday (PTI)

Sarangi said the chief minister, who had not been going to the state secretariat after the outbreak of Covid in 2020, had outsourced running the state government to Pandian, who had been the principal secretary to the chief minister for years. In October last year, Pandian quit the Indian Administrative Service and joined Odisha’s Biju Janata Dal.

“No Sana Babu can take the place of Bada Babu, who has the people’s mandate. The media in Odisha is not allowed inside the building (state secretariat). Earlier, journalists were allowed and information was shared. But now, due to the wrong governance model, things have changed in Odisha. We all need to think that whoever becomes the CM of Odisha, he or she should not outsource the system and government. The chief minister should be able to communicate with us in Odia and should be a youth and healthy,” said Sarangi.

“During elections, BJD seeks votes in the name of chief minister but after elections, the ‘Sana Babu’ takes over the government for five years. The chief minister should not outsource his government,” she said.

Quoting PM Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah, she said Odia pride was under threat and questioned the award of state government contracts to firms from outside the state.

On Jagannath Temple Parikrama Project, she challenged the government to put up the details of the expenditure entailed in the project in public domain. “ ₹4,200 crore was spent on the project from the state budget and everything was done in a secretive and non-transparent manner. ₹800 crore alone was spent to build the pathway and 4 toilets. In contrast, the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya was built at a cost of ₹1,400 crore through public donations,” she said.

BJD spokesman Priyabrata Majhi declined to react to Sarangi’s allegations.

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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