TV
The Opposition in Odisha targeted the State government over 5T Secretary VK Pandian’s back-to-back public meetings in several districts recently.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was particularly livid on the issue. It turned the heat on after Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi said that a bureaucrat has hijacked the governance in Odisha.
It is pertinent to mention here that 5T Secretary VK Pandian has been visiting several districts in the State and reportedly announcing welfare projects in the concerned area despite the presence of public representatives.
Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal criticised the 5T Secretary saying, "No govt employee can get involved in active politics as nobody is above law or system. Nobody should cross 'Laxman Rekha' in the system. If anyone wants to do politics, he/she should quit job first."
"Moreover, there should be a debate in society on whether there are any public representatives left in Odisha or Chief Minister exists in this State,” Samal added.
Targeting 5T Secretary, BJP MP Jual Oram said, “It is unfortunate that a democratically elected government that has a public mandate is forced to take the back seat allowing a bureaucrat to lead the State. I completely agree with Aparajita Sarangi’s statement yesterday.”
Congress too was livid over the 5T Secretary’s recent visits to several districts and announcing several projects. OPCC Chief Sarat Patnaik said, “The public meetings are arranged by MLAs and ministers while bureaucrats are addressing the public. If you are interested to do politics then you resign from the job and come. We have never ever seen a government like this.”
People in the know of things have also allayed their apprehensions about the development. Former bureaucrat, Sanjeev Hota said, “This is in fact a violation of service conduct rules. It is not written for a bureaucrat to go meet the public and announce welfare projects as a representative of a minister or Chief Minister."
Earlier on Saturday, Aparajita Sarangi had lambasted the government. Sarangi questioned, “whether the political executive is in command or the governance has been hijacked by a bureaucrat.”
Has Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik authorized a secretary-level bureaucrat to go around announcing projects in different parts of Odisha while the elected MLAs, MPs and Ministers are either onlookers or absent in those meetings? Sarangi questioned.
Meanwhile, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) refuted all the allegations against the 5T secretary and the Government.
“The Opposition is concerned with what Naveen Patnaik and his private secretary did. This is not a new thing. Secretaries have always visited places to supervise developmental works. Because Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik cannot move too much, he sends his secretary for the same.” Said senior BJD leader Prafulla Samal.
“The BJP is raking up non-issues because it does not have anything else to talk about,” Samal added.
