After the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) directive on BJP’s complaint, the Odisha government transferred Sujata Rout Kartikeyan on Friday. The wife of BJD leader V. K. Pandian, Sujata, a senior bureaucrat, was transferred and posted as special secretary in the finance department.
Earlier, she held the post of secretary, Department of Mission Shakti with an additional charge of secretary, Odia language, literature and culture department.
Pandian who quit IAS and joined BJD before the elections, is now campaigning for the party virtually in different districts.
Born in Tamil Nadu, Pandian began his career as an IAS officer in 2000 along with his wife Sujata, who is from Odisha. After a long stint in Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s office, Pandian took voluntary retirement and joined BJD and he is the party's star campaigner in this election next to the CM and the party president.
While he is speculated to be Patnaik’s political successor, Opposition parties have been criticising his political role long since he was in CM's office.
Recently, his wife Sujata came under attack from the Opposition as she was handling the self-help groups (SHG) of women under the Mission Shakti department. Women through SHGs have become the core vote base of BJD.
BJP had approached the EC saying that Sujata was allegedly compelling and coercing SHGs to propagate and influence voters to choose BJD in upcoming Lok Sabha assembly elections. BJP demanded that she be relieved from the Mission Shakti department as she indulged in grave misconduct through the misuse of authority, government machinery and manpower for influencing voters through the ‘SVEEP’ programme to ensure electoral gains for the BJD.
Based on the complaint, the ECI on Thursday ordered the transfer of Sujata from her post in the Mission Shakti department. The EC had asked the government to post her to a non-public dealing department with immediate effect. Accordingly, the state government has ordered Sujata’s transfer to the Finance Department as Special Secretary.
Shalini Pandit, Secretary of Health and Family Welfare has been given additional responsibilities of Sujata’s departments.
On the other hand, BJD has alleged before the EC that Binoy Srikant Pradhan, IFS, working as Consul General of India in New York, USA 'campaigning' for Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan who is BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate in Sambalpur in western Odisha. Binoy, who is from Odisha was working in the office of the union minister from 2014 to 2019 when he was the petroleum and natural gas minister.
BJD spokesperson Sasmit Patra, MP told media that the party has demanded the EC to take immediate action on its complaint. Meanwhile, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in a press conference on Friday has said Odia's pride, heritage, culture, and future protection of the new generation will be the issue in the current election.