Bhubaneswar, May 28: Amid allegations from Opposition BJP that BJD president and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has been held “hostage” by bureaucrat-turned- BJD leader VK Pandian, a fresh video surfaced on social media on Tuesday shows a distressing incident in which Pandian is seen controlling the hands of the "ailing" Chief Minister.

The incident occured when the Chief Minister was reportedly addressing an election rally. The video went viral on social media like wildfire, in which Pandian was seen grabbing the Chief Minister's trembling left hand and trying to hide it from public view.

The reason why it has spread like wildfire isn't because of the content of Naveen babu's speech, but the way his aide and BJD leader VK Pandian grabs his trembling hand and tries to hide it from public view.

"This is a deeply distressing video. Shri VK Pandian ji is even controlling the hand movements of Shri Naveen Babu. I shudder to imagine the level of control a retired ex bureaucrat from Tamil Nadu is currently exercising over the future of Odisha! BJP is determined is give back the reins of Odisha to the people of the State," Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

This is a deeply distressing video. Shri VK Pandian ji is even controlling the hand movements of Shri Naveen Babu. I shudder to imagine the level of control a retired ex bureaucrat from Tamil Nadu is currently exercising over the future of Odisha!

BJP is determined is give back… pic.twitter.com/6PEAt7F9iM
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (Modi Ka Parivar) (@himantabiswa) May 28, 2024

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

Recently, senior BJP leader Samir Mohanty 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, Mohanty said the fact that the Chief Minister was being "held hostage" was proved by many incidents.

The Assembly and Lok Sabha elections are being held simultaneously in the state in four phases from May 13 to June 1.

The last phase of simultaneous elections in six Lok Sabha seats in Odisha- Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur- and 42 assembly segments coming under these Lok Sabha constituencies will be held on June 1.

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