OAS officers' protest in Odisha: BJP MP accuses BJD of orchestrating agitation

Questions have emerged regarding the ongoing strike by Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) and Odisha Revenue Service (ORS) officers protesting the assault on Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Additional Commissioner Ratnakar Sahoo while similar events involving officials in the past have received less attention.

In a fresh twist, BJP Member of Parliament Pradeep Purohit has alleged that a political conspiracy is at play, suggesting that the agitation of OAS officials has political motivations, purportedly backed by the opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD).

Raising questions about the intensity of the current agitation, Purohit pointed out that in previous incidents where officials were assaulted, the response was much more subdued, unlike the current situation that has escalated significantly.

The BJP MP claimed that the ongoing protest is being driven by political motives and the ruling BJD is playing a key role in instigating the agitation. According to Purohit, some retired officials who were once powerful figures during the BJD-led government's tenure are now actively intensifying the protest through the officers' association.

Adding fuel to the controversy, the senior BJP leader highlighted that Kanisk Bodhisattwa Das, a long-time BJD associate, is currently serving as the State President of the ORS Officers' Association. This has raised serious questions about how a politically affiliated individual could assume such a leadership position in a government officers' body.

"The protest by the OAS officers' association is only politically motivated. They are trying to defame the government. Backed by BJD, they have been involved in the protest," said Purohit.

However, the opposition BJD has refuted the allegations.

"They are blaming BJD out of desperation. The reality is that they don't have the experience of governance. They don't have the courage to take action against the BJP workers who have committed the crime," said BJD leader Sarada Jena.

Meanwhile, according to political experts, some OAS officials who had a past link with the BJD are instigating the allegation.

"It seems that some officials of the OAS Association who had past links with Pranab Prakash Das and VK Pandian are instigating the agitation. They are holding the administration to ransom, which is not acceptable," said political analyst Akshay Sahoo.

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Amid these developments, reports suggest that many OAS officers at the Lok Seva Bhawan and various departments in Kharavela Bhawan, along with some district-level officials, have resumed duty, choosing not to follow the association’s protest call.

The situation continues to stir debate, blending administrative unrest with political undercurrents in Odisha.