5T Secretary's posters on Utkal University campus trigger political row

A kind of poster war has ensued between the Biju Chhatra Janata Dal (BCJD) and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) after the posters of 5T Secretary VK Pandian were found on the Utkal University campus in Bhubaneswar on Thursday. 

Protesting against the pasting of posters reading ‘We stand with VK Pandian Sir’ on the walls inside the Vani Vihar campus, the members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) on Thursday pasted posters of great personalities by the side of the above-mentioned posters. 

It seems the 5T politics which had so far been limited to the political parties only has made its entry into educational campuses. Days ago, the members of BCJD reportedly pasted posters on the walls of the Vani Vihar campus. The ABVP opposed the move and pasted posters of great Indian personalities by the side of the said posters. 

On the other hand, the BCJD justified its act saying they put up the posters opposing the ink attack on the 5T Secretary. 

“We had condemned the ink attack on the 5T secretary. He is reaching out to the people to redress their grievances which is not bad. So while opposing the ink attack on him, we had put up posters. With respect to great personalities, our party has been paying respect to them and will continue to do so,” said Soumyaranjan Pradhan, joint secretary of BCJD. 

In his response, ABVP’s Arijit Pattanayak said, “Who is VK Pandian? What is his contribution to the Vani Vihar? And what has happened to him for which a political party’s students’ wing came forward and said ‘We stand with VK Pandian? The situation has come to such a pass that the students’ wing has never raised its voice for students’ union election, for the vacant lecturers’ posts, and for justice to Mamita Meher and Ruchika. That students’ wing didn’t hesitate to put up stickers of a secretary.”

Meanwhile, the political temperature in Odisha has gone up a few notches over the 5T secretary’s stickers found pasted on walls inside the University campus. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stalwart and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Jayanarayan Mishra condemned the incident of the 5T secretary’s stickers being found on the premises of the Utkal University. 

Coming in support of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Mishra said, "They did nothing wrong in opposing them (the Biju Chhatra Janata Dal) for pasting stickers of the 5T secretary. In my entire political career, I have never ever heard of posters of any government servant being pasted anywhere. If he (5T secretary) wants to do politics, he should resign and put up banners or posters, whatever he wants.”  

“He is visiting districts by helicopter and distributing money to people officially and non-officially. Where is he getting money for his chopper rides? It needs to be investigated. We will also raise these issues in the coming Assembly session,” he added. 

The Congress too trained its gun at the 5T secretary saying whatever he is doing is undemocratic.