BJD MP Bhartuhari Mahtab’s veiled dig at ‘bureaucrats’ heats up political atmosphere in Odisha

After senior BJD MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik’s indirect dig at Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik over BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi’s question about giving so much power to the Secretaries in the governance in Odisha, MP Bhartruhari Mahtab’s indirect indication on the same line has triggered speculations about the growing resentment within the party over the issue.

Attending the launch ceremony of book ‘Fakir Mohan Senapati: The Making of an Author’ in New Delhi, Bhartruhari spoke about the treachery of own people and the tyranny of the bureaucrats. Union Minister and senior BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan was also present on the dais. 

“Your own people often stab you in the back. Landlords used to exploit in the past. The trend has not waned a bit even today. The bureaucrats used to torture in those times. The same thing is even repeated today. Those characters become alive when we read the novels and stories of Fakir Mohan,” said Mahtab.

“Don’t we see those characters in our lives today? Don’t we find tyrant Mangarajs even today?” asked Mahtab.

However, it was not clear whom the parliamentarian was referring to in his address.

Earlier, the Opposition parties had launched a scathing attack on the State government over giving so much power to the Secretaries in the governance of the state.