Kotia Belongs to Odisha and Must Be Protected Without Compromise
Bhubaneswar | 20 October 2026
Bhubaneswar : Former Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik has written a letter regarding the silence of the BJP Government on the Kotia issue. In this regard, Media Coordinator Dr. Lenin Mohanty has strongly criticised the BJP Government.
Dr. Mohanty said that under the Biju Janata Dal Government led by Shri Naveen Patnaik, the people of Kotia received sustained attention through planned development for more than two decades, which strengthened not only their daily lives but also Odisha’s administrative presence in the region.
Between 2000 and 2024, the State Government made substantial investments in road connectivity, linking Kotia with Kunduli, Doliambo-Naringipadar, Deomali and other interior routes, ensuring that remote tribal villages were no longer isolated. Educational infrastructure was expanded through the establishment of an Odisha Adarsha Vidyalaya with free bus services, tribal boys’ and girls’ hostels, Anganwadi centres and school buildings.
Healthcare services were improved through a 10-bed hospital, upgraded sub-centres and mobile medical units. A police station was established, electricity and drinking water supply were expanded, mobile connectivity improved, and hundreds of families received houses under the Biju Pucca Ghar Yojana. Livelihood programmes promoted strawberry cultivation, the commercialisation of traditional Kotia brooms and animal husbandry.
Alongside these physical developments, welfare schemes, pensions and ration facilities regularly reached the people, while the Odia language, culture and festivals such as Rath Yatra were actively promoted. By 2024, more than ₹108 crore had been spent on these initiatives, demonstrating that the BJD regarded Kotia not merely as a disputed border region but as an integral part of Odisha, whose residents were entitled to the same dignity and services as other citizens of the State.
The BJP Government, which assumed office in June 2024, has failed to protect the same territorial interests that it once strongly claimed to champion. Before the elections, BJP leaders repeatedly declared that the “double-engine” government would permanently resolve the Kotia dispute, restore Odia pride and drive Andhra Pradesh’s interference out of the region through the slogan “Go Back Andhra”. Twenty-eight months later, those promises appear to have been nothing more than an electoral spectacle.
Andhra Pradesh, governed by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP)a key ally of the BJP at the Centre has once again attempted to conduct Panchayat elections in disputed villages such as Phagunsineri, Ganjeipadar and Phatusineri. Election notifications have been issued and preparations are underway, in clear violation of the long-standing status quo order of the Supreme Court. Despite being in power in both Odisha and at the Centre, and despite its alliance with the ruling party in Andhra Pradesh, the BJP Government in the State has remained largely silent and ineffective. In 2025, a 16-member high-level committee was constituted with much publicity. However, the people of Odisha are still waiting to learn about its recommendations and any concrete action taken on them. While limited development announcements continue, the fundamental responsibility of protecting the State’s territorial integrity has been relegated to the background for the political convenience of the BJP-TDP alliance.
Kotia, comprising 28 villages, of which 21 are disputed, is an integral part of Odisha. The dispute has been pending before the Supreme Court since 1968, and Odisha filed a fresh case in January 2022 to defend its claim. No neighbouring State has the right to conduct elections or expand administrative control in violation of the judicial status quo. Therefore, the Biju Janata Dal demands that the present government immediately stop any electoral activities by Andhra Pradesh in the disputed villages, take all necessary legal steps before the Supreme Court, make public the complete recommendations of the 2025 Kotia Committee along with the action taken on them, and stop subordinating Odisha’s territorial interests to the politics of political alliances.
The people of Kotia and Odisha will not accept any compromise on the territorial integrity of the State. Kotia belongs to Odisha, its residents are Odias, and the BJD will defend their rights firmly and without hesitation.
