Suspension of CMO’s Special Secretary politically-motivated, says Pandian

Bhubaneswar: BJD leader V K Pandian on Wednesday termed the suspension of IPS officer D S Kutey, special secretary to the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, as unfortunate.

“He is a upright officer and played a major role in countering Maoist insurgency, which is at its lowest ebb in the state, while the neighbouring Chhattisgarh is still struggling to check the menace. Kutey risked his life in the fight against Maoists, whether it was in Gajapati district or as IG (operations),” he told a presser.

Pandian added that he feels that his suspension is politically-motivated. “This is not right. Whatever the BJP leadership wants is happening. The CM and the BJD have never used officers for electoral benefits. The party is very strong in Odisha with 1 crore members. The BJP may need such help but not BJD,” he asserted.

Pandian further alleged that the saffron party has failed to solve the problems of the farmers. “They have failed to double the MSP and income of farmers, a promised made after coming to power at the Centre in 2014. Now, 10 days before the elections, suddenly they remembered the farmers and entered headlong into a contest of one-upmanship by promising them Rs 3,100 MSP for one quintal of paddy,” he said.

The BJD leader further claimed that the BJP also reneged on its promise to check the rising price of essential commodities and fuel, and give employment to 2 crore people. “The Centre takes around 50,000-60,000 crore from coal mines and railway in Odisha but gives only Rs 4,000 crore. When we raise these issues, they try to divert the topic by talking about Ratna Bhandar of Shree Jagannath Temple and showing disrespect to the CM using abusive language,” he added.

Pandian said that the state government has tried its best to ensure a safety corridor for the Srimandir. “The BJP is not able to digest the fact that the people are appreciating the Parikrama Prakalpa. A Bhumiputra will take oath as the CM on June 9 as he not only speaks Odia and also lives in the heart of 4.5 crore Odias,” he said.

He added that whosoever is responsible for the missing keys of Ratna Bhandar should be put behind the bars, or maybe sent to ‘Andaman and Nicobar Islands’.

On Tuesday, the ECI suspended Kutey for “unduly interfering in conduct of election” and fixed his headquarters at the office of Resident Commissioner Odisha, New Delhi, where he has been asked to report by 3 pm on May 29. IG (CM Security) Ashish Kumar Singh, who is on medical leave since May 4, has also been asked to appear for a detailed medical examination by a special medical board constituted by Director of AIIMS-Bhubaneswar.

Last month, the BJP accused Kutey, a 1997-batch IPS officer, of working for the BJD by staying at the Chief Minister’s Office. “The CEO Odisha in his communication on May 27 had made certain averments indicating undue influence being exercised by Kutey and Singh on officers directly connected with conduct of election work. This was further corroborated by various other inputs received from the field from time to time,” the order said.