इतिहास तो यही है! Nishikan Dubey’s Sharp Retort As BJD Slams ‘CIA Link’ Remark On Biju Patnaik

New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: In a fresh twist to the row over controversial remarks on Odisha’s legendary leader Biju Patnaik, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey responded pointedly to BJD MP Sasmit Patra’s resignation from the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and IT.

Dubey retweeted Patra’s resignation post on X and simply wrote: “इतिहास तो यही है” (This is history / History is exactly this), accompanied by an image to drive home his point.

The tweet was a direct reply to Patra’s announcement.

On March 28, Patra announced his resignation from the committee, which is chaired by Nishikant Dubey himself. In a strongly worded post on X, Patra expressed being “deeply shocked and anguished” by what he called “outrageous, false and irresponsible insinuations” made by Dubey against Biju Patnaik. He accused Dubey of attempting to “distort history and malign a revered leader for political narratives.”

“In protest, and as a matter of principle, I am resigning from the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and IT under the Chairmanship of Shri Nishikant Dubey. I cannot, in good conscience, continue to serve under someone who makes such disrespectful remarks about a national icon. The legacy of Biju Patnaik ji will always stand taller than petty politics,” the BJD leader wrote.

Patra’s move came after Dubey stirred a hornet’s nest, claiming that Biju Patnaik, former Chief Minister of Odisha, freedom fighter, and a key figure in India’s independence movement and early diplomacy, had links with CIA agents. “Nehru fought the entire 1962 war with China with American money and in collaboration with CIA agents. Biju Patnaik, the then Chief Minister of Odisha, was a link between the US government, the CIA, and Nehru. Even the officials were aware of this. I have released two letters from Nehru today, in which he is telling his officials, especially the US ambassador, to do their job. We have sent Biju Patnaik for a major task, and he is discussing defence matters,” he had said.

BJD leaders and supporters in Odisha strongly condemned the remarks, viewing them as an insult to “Odia Asmita” (Odia pride) and a national icon known for his contributions, including piloting aircraft during the 1947 Kashmir operations and aiding the Soviet Union against the Nazis in World War II.

Other BJD MPs in Rajya Sabha, including Manas Mangaraj, Subhasish Khuntia and Santrupt Misra also slammed Dubey.