Naveen Patnaik defends VK Pandian amid BJD crisis

BHUBANESWAR: As the crisis in the BJD over the change of stand on the Waqf Amendment Bill intensified, party president Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday threw his weight behind trusted aide VK Pandian stating that the former bureaucrat should not be blamed for anything as he left the party more than 10 months ago and is not involved in any of the party’s work.

“I want to state quite clearly that Karthikeyan Pandian, in the past, has done a lot of good work not only for the state but for the party. So, he should not be criticised or blamed for anything. Also, he left the party more than 10 months ago and is not involved in any of the party’s work,” Naveen told mediapersons here.

Earlier in the day, several leaders of the party held a meeting at a hotel in Patia area of the city to discuss the emerging situation. Those who attended the meeting included former ministers Debi Mishra, Arun Sahoo, Sashi Bhusan Behera, Ashok Panda, Sanjay Das Burma, Bhupinder Singh and Anshuman Mohanty.