Bhubaneswar: The state unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday urged the Odisha Director General of Police (DGP) to “free” Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik from the “clutches” of VK Pandian, his close aide who is wielding high influence on the ruling Biju Janata Dal.
In a letter to the DGP Arun Sarangi, former BJP state president Samir Mohanty said the party believed that the CM had been held hostage by Pandian and demanded that he (CM) be freed from the latter’s clutches.
While the BJP held a press conference on Thursday with serious allegations that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is hostage, the saffron party wrote a letter to the Director General of Police (DGP) on Friday, requesting him to release him from the hostage situation.
He wrote that Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik has been held hostage by his former private secretary Shri VK Pandian for the past few days. This has been proved by many incidents. It has been shown from the videos circulated on social media by the CM’s own party BJD that the Chief Minister has been kept completely hostage by Pandian and some non-Odia officers.
Mohanty wrote that there is doubt as to whether the Chief Secretary and the Odisha Police DG can also discuss with the chief minister as per the protocol. “The people of Odisha have the right to know the condition of the Chief Minister. Therefore, the BJP is requesting that you free the Chief Minister in the presence of a judge and some dignitaries and create an opportunity to talk to the media,” the letter read.
Later, while speaking to the news agency ANI, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik said that he was fit and he has been campaigning for the elections across the state over the last month.
