Ink Thrown at Odisha CM's Private Secretary Pandian in Puri

Bhubanewsar: After the black flag protest and egg attack, Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s private secretary VK Pandian on Saturday faced an ink attack during his visit to Satyabadi in Puri district.

A person named Bhaskar Sahoo reportedly threw ink at Pandian and some portion of the ink also smeared the face of Puri Collector Samarth Verma.

VK Pandian visited Satyabadi to attend a programme at UGS College when the incident occurred. He was reportedly meeting and greeting Mission Shakti women members when the ink was thrown at him.

The exact reason why the person threw ink at Pandian was not clear till the last report came in. However, the attacker Bhasker Sahoo was detained by police soon after the incident and taken for interrogation.

Earlier in the day, Pandian, who is also secretary of the state government’s 5T department, visited several parts of Puri district.

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress have been opposing the bureaucrat’s whirlwind tours to various constituencies ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections on behalf the CM Naveen Patnaik and announcing special packages for different groups, institutions and various ongoing programmes.

The Opposition says Pandian’s visit to different parts of the state is a well-calculated strategy by the BJD leadership to consolidate its vote bank.

“We are very much concerned that instead of the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, ministers and MLAs, an IAS officer is holding public meetings and directly receiving grievances from the public. When we have Collectors at district level to hear the public grievances, what is the need of a bureaucrat visiting every nook and corner of the state by helicopter spending nearly Rs 300 crore rupees?” questioned BJP leader Surath Biswal.

Pradesh Congress Committee president Sarat Pattanayak said the ink incident was a sponsored show to create sympathy in favour of Pandian who has been in the eye of storm for continuously marginalising people’s representatives.”

“VK Pandian is a bureaucrat. He must know his limitations. We don’t endorse any kind of assault on anyone. However, when a bureaucrat tries to play the role of politician by sidelining people’s representatives, he will naturally face such kind of wrath,” said Mr Pattanayak.

BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty, while condemning the ink attack, alleged that opposition BJP was behind the attack.