Bhubaneswar: Trouble is mounting for 5T Secretary V K Pandian with Congress on Tuesday questioning the authenticity of the audio clip, which the former played during his Bargarh visit, the previous day, claiming approval of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to his whirlwind tours across Odisha.
“What is the proof that the audio is of Chief Minister? Is Pandian being sent as a secretary or as a CM? He should show us the letter issued to him by the CM. Whatever is being said should be given in writing. It is not personal affair, people’s money is being spent on such tours,” Odisha Pradesh Congress President Sarat Pattanayak said while speaking to the media.
He also sought to know about money being spent towards security and other expenses for other secretaries’ visits.
Pattanayak said that Congress is not against development. “The state government, which has done little to develop religious institutions in the last 25 years, is now getting pro-active with an eye on the upcoming elections.”
Veteran Congress leader Narasingha Mishra said that he is not aware if the CM could speak in Kosali language in which the audio clip was played by the 5T secretary. “Naveen said that he has asked his private secretary to go to the people and hear out their grievances. But he is conducting meetings and holding rallies. The security provided to him surpasses that of the CM,” he alleged.
He said that people have voted the CM to govern the state and he can direct the administration to implement his orders. “The privileges of the CM cannot be transferred to an officer. Democracy is being murdered in Odisha, where elected representatives have little say, and bureaucrats are instead ruling the roost,” he said.
Narasingha further said that he had tweeted to the CM, asking him to hold a press conference and issue a clarification on these issues, which has snowballed into a major controversy.
Senior Congress leader Jayadev Jena said that BJP-BJD have entered into an unannounced pact and will fight the next elections together. “The people of Odisha have accepted Congress as the only alternative. The audio played by 5T secretary has proved that the CM is no longer in a condition to visit anywhere,” he added.
Earlier in the day, Odisha Congress campaign committee chairman Bijay Patnaik informed about having written to Centre, demanding appropriate measures over alleged ‘violation’ of AIS Conduct Rules by 5T Secretary VK Pandian.
Also Read: Bijay Patnaik Writes To Centre Over ‘Violation’ Of AIS Conduct Rules By Odisha 5T Secy VK Pandian
Bhubaneswar MP from BJP Aparajita Sarangi then tweeted that the Centre has taken cognisance of the violation of Conduct Rules by an officer in Odisha and asked Chief Secretary to take action as state is the cadre-controlling authority.
Seeking clarification from the chief minister on whether a secretary-level officer has been attending public meetings with his permission, Aparajita on June 25 had expressed surprise over huge police deployment for Pandian during his Bargarh visit. She sought information from the Director General of Police (DGP) about security deployment level for the Chief Secretary and Development Commissioner. “Why should a person going to inspect development work have so much fear & ‘insecurity’?” she tweeted.
Quoting an RTI reply, Patnaik had then claimed that no instructions has been issued to the officer to conduct such tours.
To silence the Opposition’s criticism on the official sanction to his tours to different parts of Odisha and announcing different projects, Pandian on Monday played an audio message from Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on his approval to the visits at the public meeting in Barpali.
Also Read: Secretary VK Pandian Shows CM’s Approval For His Visits, Plays Naveen’s Audio Message
The opposition parties has long been alleging that the 2000-batch IAS officer was violating the All India Service Rules by attending public meetings.
