In a sharp and coordinated counter-attack, a group of Odisha BJP parliamentarians today tore into former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s recent remarks, calling them “completely baseless, unfounded and politically motivated.”
Addressing a press conference in the national capital, the MPs, led by senior leader Bhartuhari Mahatab, accused Patnaik and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) of hypocrisy, selective amnesia and dangerous double standards while defending the Centre’s handling of the NEET paper-leak crisis.
“Odia people are neither weak nor ignorant”
Mahatab directly challenged Patnaik: “Naveen Babu seems to think that people’s memory is short and that Odias have forgotten everything. But it is not right to consider Odia people weak or ignorant.”
He reminded everyone that between 2015 and 2023, under BJD rule, question paper leaks and large-scale irregularities plagued several major examinations — Police Constable recruitment, OPSC, OJSE and even Matriculation exams. The Odisha High Court had strongly criticised the then BJD government. Despite massive protests, dharnas and demonstrations across the state, not a single minister resigned.
Double standards and “opportunistic politics”
The BJP leaders also slammed BJD for extending support to the “anti-national and violent activities” of Congress and CPI. They pointed out that while people have the right to protest and express dissent, attempts to storm Parliament by breaking security barricades one after another constitute serious anti-national acts.
When BJD leaders now claim “We are not supporting CPI, we are only supporting the movement,” the BJP called it a classic case of two-faced politics — what they described as the “চଟୁ ଆମିଷ, ବେଣ୍ଟ ନିରାମିଷ” (opportunistic/double-standard) approach. This, they said, only proves the complete political confusion within BJD leadership.
Communists lost mandate, BJD is fast losing it too
Mahatab noted that communists have already lost their public mandate across the country. In Odisha too, he claimed, BJD is rapidly losing its own. He accused the party of doing politics over a non-issue and trying to drag students’ futures into narrow political games.
Centre acted swiftly — BJD never did
Contrasting the two approaches, the BJP leaders highlighted that the moment allegations of paper leak surfaced in the NEET exam, the Modi government took immediate, decisive and corrective steps. With the cooperation of state governments and the Defence Ministry, fresh question papers were flown in, re-examinations were conducted smoothly within a fixed timeframe, answer sheets were evaluated, and results were declared on time.
In contrast, they said, multiple paper leaks occurred during the UPA era, but the present central government remains fully sensitive to students’ futures.
Call for constructive cooperation
The BJP reiterated that the country’s progress depends on its students and urged that narrow politics should not be played with their future. They expressed willingness for constructive discussions inside and outside Parliament to improve the examination system and called on BJD and other opposition parties to cooperate in the smooth functioning of the House — especially in the Rajya Sabha.
The press conference was attended by Odisha BJP MPs Sangeeta Singhdeo, Anita Priyadarshini, Malvika Devi, Rudra Narayan Pani, Pradeep Purohit, Ananta Nayak, Abhimanyu Sethi, Rabi Narayan Behera, Balabhadra Majhi, Sukant Panigrahi and Bibhu Prasad Tarai.
