Bhubaneswar: BJP MP Nishikant Dubey issued an unconditional apology on Wednesday amid widespread backlash over his recent comments claiming that freedom fighter and former chief minister Biju Patnaik served as a “link” between the US government, the CIA, and former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru during the 1962 Sino-Indian War.
“Last week, while speaking to the media, an incorrect interpretation was drawn from my remarks regarding the Nehru-Gandhi family’s exploits, specifically in reference to the honourable Shri Biju Patnaik ji, a former Chief Minister and one of India’s leading leaders. First of all, this statement is my personal view. My thoughts on Nehru ji were misconstrued as being about Biju Babu. Biju Babu has always been and will remain a towering statesman for us. If my statement has hurt anyone’s sentiments, I unconditionally apologise,” the Parliamentarian posted on X, coinciding with Utakal Dibasa celebration in Odisha.
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The remarks drew sharp criticism from across the political spectrum in Odisha. BJD president and former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, son of Biju Patnaik, termed the comments “outrageous” and suggested Dubey needed “mental doctor’s attention.” He recalled how Nehru had set up an office adjacent to his own in Delhi for Biju Patnaik to help coordinate strategies against the Chinese aggression.
Earlier, BJD MP Sasmit Patra resigned from a parliamentary committee headed by Dubey calling the comments “disparaging, false and concocted”. Four other party MPs — Manas Mangaraj, Subhasish Khuntia, Muzibulla Khan, Santrupta Misha, Niranjan Bishi — along with new-elected Santrupt Misra also criticised the BJP MP and accused him of “insulting the pride of Odisha”. The Rajya Sabha members from BJD also staged a walk out from the Upper House over the issue.
Even within the BJP, senior leader Baijayant Panda criticised the remarks as “unworthy, uninformed and totally unacceptable,” hailing Biju Patnaik as one of India’s greatest patriots and warning against casting aspersions on his loyalty.
In Bhubaneswar, the issue spilled into the state assembly, with opposition parties demanding a censure motion and an unconditional apology from Dubey. The Odisha government itself termed the remarks “unacceptable” and “hurtful”. Odisha Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan noted that Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi was “deeply hurt” by the comments.
Facing the heat, Dubey had also earlier clarified that his statements had been misinterpreted and were part of an ongoing series aimed at highlighting what he described as the “misdeeds” of the Nehru-Gandhi family and the Congress party, not an attack on Biju Patnaik personally. He stressed that Biju Patnaik remained a “towering statesman,” a “great freedom fighter,” and a leader whom the BJP and its predecessor, the Jan Sangh, had always respected — especially when the Congress allegedly did him injustice.
