Odisha: After Pramila Bisoyi, BJD MLA Debi Mishra’s ‘Pandiyan is CM’ comment raises eyebrows

Bhubaneswar: BJP leader Manoj Panda termed it as unfortunate and said that he might have done this to ensure a party ticket for himself in the upcoming elections. Senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader and Badamba MLA Debi Prasad Mishra ‘inadvertently’ declared the 5T Secretary as the Chief Minister of Odisha, causing a stir in political circles. He reportedly committed the mistake while addressing a meeting to mark the launch of ‘Ama Odisha Nabeen Odisha’ at Kacheri Ground in Badamaba in Cuttack district on Thursday. “Badamba is a land of heritage and pride where a new initiative like ‘Ama Odisha Nabeen Odisha’ has been started. The new scheme was announced some time ago by our respected Chief Minister Pandian,” he said, raising eyebrows as no effort was made by the MLA to rectify the mistake. However, the former minister said that controversy is being created over a non-issue. He later said, “I am a sensible person and I mentioned the names of both the 5T secretary and the CM in my speech.” However, Mishra is not the first BJD leader to make such comments about the 5T secretary. On 31 May, Aska MP Pramila Bisoyee addressed Pandian as “our dear Chief Minister” during a public meeting in her constituency. Pandian, a 2000 batch IAS officer, recently made headlines for his whirlwind tours of various areas of Odisha on the instructions of CM Naveen Patnaik.