- Meeting Held After a Year in Power – No Real Intention Despite Triple Engine Govt
- Kotia’s real Development Was Undertaken by Naveen Govt
Bhubaneswar, 06/06/2025:Reacting to the statement of Revenue Minister Shri Suresh Pujari following a high-level meeting of the state government on the Kotia issue, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has launched a strong critique against the current administration.
Nearly a year into power, the state government remained silent on the Kotia matter, only now holding a high-level meeting. While the Minister has spoken about the development of basic infrastructure in Kotia, he has remained silent on resolving the core border dispute.
At a press conference held at ShankhaBhawan today, BJD’s Senior General Secretary Shri Pradeep Majhi and party spokesperson cum media coordinator Dr. Lenin Mohanty remarked that the BJP-led Odisha government has spent the past year merely indulging in ceremonial showmanship. Key issues like Kotia and Polavaram have seen no official response from the BJP in the last year.
While the BJP is planning a statewide celebration to mark its one year in power, the sudden and superficial high-level meeting on Kotia appears to be merely symbolic.
Shri Pradeep Majhi said that Minister Suresh Pujari’s statement on developing Kotia’s infrastructure is nothing but optical illusion, since the real issue is the unresolved border dispute, on which he has remained completely silent. He reminded that it was the Naveen Patnaik government that had sanctioned ₹164 crore for the development of Kotia’s base infrastructure. Roads to all villages, drinking water, electricity, and social security schemes were implemented successfully. Organic farming in Kunduli and Kotia was promoted, which now supplies vegetables to the entire state.
Shri Majhi also emphasized that the Supreme Court had advised engaging with the Parliament and the Union Home Ministry on the Kotia issue. Today, the BJP is in power both in the State and at the Centre, and even in Andhra Pradesh through its NDA ally. Yet, no step has been taken by the Odisha Government to resolve the issue.
He questioned: Why has the state government not prioritized this matter, despite having a “triple engine” government in place?
Dr. Lenin Mohanty added that Chief Minister Mohan Majhi has not taken the Kotia issue to the Inter-State Council. The state government has failed to raise the matter at appropriate forums, which raises serious questions about its intent and commitment to resolving the long-standing border dispute.
Although the Supreme Court had issued a permanent injunction and advised coordination with Parliament and the Union Home Ministry, the Odisha government has failed to act. Today’s high-level meeting, therefore, appears meaningless due to the continued silence of the state on the core dispute.
Dr. Mohanty also responded to Minister Pujari’s statement blaming procedural lapses of the previous government for SC not accepting Odisha’s claim. He said such remarks are unacceptable. If Shri Pujari, himself a senior lawyer, believes this, will he now accept that over 100 cases have been lost by the current government in the past year due to the BJP’s own mismanagement?
