Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik strongly condemned the attack on the official residence of his private secretary V. Karthikeyan Pandian by BJP activists in Bhubaneswar today.
"It's an absolutely shocking incident particularly as some members of a national party have agreed that they took part in it. It's truly shocking," Patnaik said while responding to mediapersons in Puri.
Similarly, the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) associations in Odisha also condemned such vandalism by saffron activists.
IAS officers association Secretary Vishal Dev criticised the attack saying such incident had not taken place earlier in the state. He also demanded stringent action against the culprits.
IPS officers association also expressed concerns over such hooliganism by BJP workers. Association’s executive member ADG Sudhansu Sarangi said such protest in a democracy is not acceptable. Stern action should be initiated against the perpetrators, he demanded.
OAS officers association also passed a resolution condemning the attack on the house of a government officer.
"Vandalising the residence of an IAS officer is condemnable. The act was undemocratic. We condemn the incident and demand stringent action against those involved," association secretary Jyoti Ranjan Mishra said.
BJD spokesperson and MP Pratap Deb said the vandalism by BJP activists speaks about the sick mentality of the saffron party. “Targeting an officer in this manner should be strongly dealt with. Police should arrest the hooligans at the earliest,” Deb said.
Deb also questioned OTV's coverage of the entire incident. At a press meet, Deb questioned that how OTV crew reached the spot before the saffron party workers and alleged that it was planned plot.
OTV received information on the planned protests at the official residence of IAS officer VK Pandian, the private secretary of CM Naveen Patnaik, from an oft-used WhatsApp group, which comprises members of media houses, State intelligence officials and home department officials as well.
As a responsible news channel,OTV follows a charter and a protocol and today's coverage was no exception. Being the fastest, its crew shows urgency and promptness to every news item whether it relates to BJD, BJP, Congress or others.
In fact it was surprising to know that even though the WhatsApp group on which the information regarding the protest was disseminated had members from the State Intelligence Department, the officials were totally oblivious about the same while media was the first to arrive at the spot.
Earlier in the morning, some BJP activists holding party flags barged into Pandian’s residence and ransacked the flower pots. The protesters also damaged vehicles inside the quarters and hurled cow dung. They also allegedly thrashed the security guard deployed in the quarters.