Bhubaneswar, May 24: Alleging that BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has been held “hostage” by bureaucrat-turned- BJD leader VK Pandian, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Odisha on Friday appealed to the State Chief Secretary and Director General Of Police (DGP) to "free Patnaik from Pandian's captivity".

In a letter to Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena and DGP Arun Kumar Sarangi, BJP leader Samir Mohanty said that the fact that the Chief Minister was being "held hostage" was proved by many incidents.

The BJP leader further claimed in the letter it was evident from "certain videos" posted by the BJD on social media that the Chief Minister is being held hostage by Pandian and "other non-Odia officials".

"The way in which Naveen Babu has been presented in the videos has shocked the people of the state. The BJD president’s video, which showed him wearing a T-shirt and appealing to vote for the conch symbol of the party, was not only shocking but also humiliating for all of us," Mohanty said.

Mohanty further claimed that recent campaign videos indicated Patnaik was acting like a puppet under Pandian's influence.

Earlier, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Union Minister Giriraj Singh alleged that the Odisha CM was being held captive by his close aide VK Pandian.

"I am the Chief Minister of a state. I can personally meet anyone and people can also meet me. The same is in the case of West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, However, the Odisha Chief Minister cannot meet anyone personally. No one can also meet him alone as Pandian always stays with him," Sarma said.

"I feel that the chief justice or a judge of Orissa High Court or Governor should talk to Naveen babu alone to assess his well-being and ensure he is not under duress," he suggested.
Union Minister Singh alleged that the Odisha CM is being held captive by a coterie and that they plan to appoint Pandian as the next CM.

Meanwhile, CM Patnaik responded to this and said that he was fit and had been campaigning for the elections.
"I am fully fit and I have been campaigning across the state over the past one month,” Patnaik said.

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