Bhubaneswar: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has decided to send a 15-member delegation to Kotia in Koraput district on Friday to assess the ground situation amid a raging controversy over the region’s jurisdiction following Andhra Pradesh government’s notification for panchayat polls in three villages of the border area.
The delegation comprises MLA Manohar Randhari; former ministers Ramesh Majhi, Jagannath Saraka and Rabi Narayan Nanda; former MPs Jhina Hikaka and Pradeep Majhi; former MLAs Prabhu Jani, Manas Madkami, Raghuram Padal, Prafulla Pangi and Pritam Padhi.
The other members of the team — constituted by BJD president and Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik – are party general secretary Bhrugu Baxipatra, Tribal Cell general secretary Kausalya Hikaka, Koraput Zilla Parishad president Sasmita Meleka and Koraput Municipal Council chairperson Lalat Ranjan Sethi.
The BJD leaders will interact with local residents, visit border areas and hold discussions with the district administration before submitting its findings to Patnaik, the party said in a statement on Thursday.
The BJD has questioned the BJP-led state government’s handling of the Kotia issue, with former chief minister Naveen describing the developments as an assault on Odia Swabhiman in a letter to CM Mohan Charan Majhi.
and alleging that the state government has failed to safeguard Odisha’s interests despite both states being governed by the BJP.
On Wednesday, Odisha Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari indicated that the state government will approach the court again over the Kotia dispute.