BJD demands action against IFS officer for poll campaigning in Sambalpur

Bhubaneswar: Senior BJD leader and MP Sasmit Patra has demanded action by Election Commission of India against IFS officer Binay Pradhan for campaigning in favour of Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in Odisha’s Sambalpur.

Speaking to media persons here on Friday, Patra said Binay, who is presently serving as Indian consulate general in New York, has been actively involved in the campaign of Pradhan, who is BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate for Sambalpur.

He further said Binay, who was the officer on special duty (OSD) of the Union Minister from 2014 to 19, took leave from his ministry for one month five days back and landed in Sambalpur. He is not only staying in the house where the BJP candidate is presently accommodated but also looking after his campaign, he added.

The BJD MP claimed that the BJD had filed a complaint with the Election Commission of India (ECI) on April 24 stating that Binay had violated the government service rules by getting involved in the election campaign of BJP candidate.

“We demanded verification of Binay’s phone calls, GPS tracking of his movements and ascertaining the purpose of his visit to Sambalpur. We had also sent copies of our complaint to Cabinet secretary and Foreign Secretary. As we did not get any response from the Commission, we submitted a reminder on April 26. But the Commission has neither responded to our complaint not taken any action against Binay till date,” he said.

He also said the involvement of Binay in the campaign not only violated the model code of conduct but also goes against Representation of People’s Act.

“We will approach the chief election commissioner again in this regard and demand urgent action against Binay to ensure free and fair elections in the state,” said Patra.