Odisha: BJD V-P joins opposition in blaming Koraput admin for Kotia fiasco

I thank him for accepting the governments negligence.He should raise the issue in the ensuing budget session of theAssembly, Mishra said.Koraputs Congress MP Saptagiri Ulaka alleged that theBJD government has ignored the peoples representatives fromthe area on the Kotia issue.Though the government moved the Supreme Court, it didnot prefer to consult with the local MLAs and MP.

A senior BJD leader onTuesday joined the opposition in blaming Odisha's Koraputdistrict administration for ''failing to win the confidence'' ofthe people in the Kotia cluster of villages, who participatedin rural elections of neighbouring Andhra Pradesh on February13.

Khandapada MLA S R Patnaik, also the son-in-law offormer Congress chief minister J B Patnaik, said he does nothesitate to call a spade a spade.

''I am not the person to tell that everything is rightin the administration as I belong to the BJD. The issue couldhave been resolved much earlier if efforts were made at thegrassroots level.

''Just because I am in the ruling party, I will notdefend it blindly,'' Patnaik, a BJD vice-president, toldreporters on the Assembly premises while undergoing COVID-19test ahead of the budget session starting on February 18.

He alleged there was negligence on the part of theadministrative machinery at the district level.

''Though it is late, the government is braced to fightover the issue,'' he said.

Noting that the border row is a long-standing issue,the senior BJD leader said that many other states have similarproblems.

Leader of Congress Legislature Party, NarasinghaMishra, claimed that his earlier statement has been vindicatedby Patnaik's comments.

''The BJD leader's statement has proved that we wereright. I thank him for accepting the government's negligence.

He should raise the issue in the ensuing budget session of theAssembly,'' Mishra said.

Koraput's Congress MP Saptagiri Ulaka alleged that theBJD government has ignored the peoples' representatives fromthe area on the Kotia issue.

''Though the government moved the Supreme Court, it didnot prefer to consult with the local MLAs and MP. This issuecan be resolved with the cooperation of all,'' he said.

Ulaka claimed that though he had earlier attempted tohold meetings in the Kotia cluster of villages, theadministration had not permitted him to do so on the groundsof security.

''When I wanted to meet the people of Kotia who hadvoted for the Congress in the 2019 elections, theadministration allowed us to hold a meeting at Pottangiinstead of in the Kotia area,'' he said.

Former Koraput MP and BJP leader Jayram Pangi blamedthe chief minister for ''lack of interest'' in resolving theissue.

''As the government ignored the people, theyparticipated in the Andhra polls,'' Pangi said.

Andhra Pradesh held rural elections in the Kotiaregion, disputed between the two states, despite the Koraputdistrict collector's request to his Vizianagaram counterpartagainst it as the matter is sub-judice.

The state government has moved the Supreme Courtchallenging Andhra Pradesh's State Election Commissionnotifying rural polls in Odisha territory by defying the apexcourt's order to maintain the status quo in the disputed areaof Kotia.