The growing influence of a bureaucrat in the Odisha government has sparked a heated debate, with both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress demanding action against him. The individual in question is V K Pandian, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s private secretary for the past 12 years.

Both the BJP and Congress have directed their attention towards VK Pandian, who has been accused of exceeding his authority.

On Tuesday, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) under the Union government took notice of a complaint filed by BJP leaders against “an IAS officer.” The DoPT promptly sent a notice to the Odisha Chief Secretary, urging an inquiry into the matter.

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In a letter to the Secretary of the DoPT, former state chief secretary and Odisha Congress leader Bijay Patnaik cited multiple incidents against Pandian and demanded an investigation.

While Pandian has long remained a behind-the-scenes figure in the Naveen Patnaik government, he recently came to limelight assuming a more public role. At a public meeting held on Monday in Barpali, Bargarh district, Pandian played an audio recording of the Chief Minister addressing the people, explaining that he had sent his private secretary to understand their grievances. The audio was subsequently shared on social media by BJD leaders.

While Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has not yet responded to these allegations, his office has been disseminating information and photographs of Pandian’s visits.

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In a press conference held on the same day, Suresh Pujari, BJP Member of Parliament from Bargarh, stated, “The functions and duties of Constitutional posts like those of the Prime Minister or Chief Minister cannot be delegated to anyone.”

Who is VK Pandian?

VK Pandian, a 2000-batch IAS officer originally from Tamil Nadu, served as Collector of Mayurbhanj and Ganjam (the CM’s home district), before being appointed as Naveen Patnaik’s private secretary in May 2011.

In recent years, Pandian has been regarded as the key strategist behind the Odisha government’s focus on sports and the development of sports infrastructure in the state. As a result, Odisha has been selected to host several international sporting events, including two consecutive Men’s Hockey World Cups.

Since 2019, Pandian has been directly overseeing the Naveen Patnaik government’s 5T initiative, as well as the “Mo Sarkar” program, aimed at receiving public feedback. The recent drive by the BJD government to transform schools, temples, and infrastructure projects is believed to be Pandian’s brainchild.

What is the recent controversy?

Last week, Aparajita Sarangi, BJP Member of Parliament from Bhubaneswar and a national spokesperson for the party, raised questions about the presence of a Secretary-level officer attending public meetings without the Chief Minister’s permission. 

Sarangi, who herself resigned from the IAS in 2018 to join politics, highlighted the officer’s involvement in meetings typically reserved for politicians.

During a rally in Kalahandi district, BJP national president J P Nadda criticised the Odisha administration, stating that it had been “outsourced to bureaucracy.” These comments further fueled the ongoing debate surrounding the influence of bureaucrats in the state’s governance.

Adding to the pressure on Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, BJD vice-president and Khandapada MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik expressed concerns about the alleged hijacking of governance by a section of bureaucrats. 

In his column in The Sambad Daily, which is owned by the Chief Minister himself, Patnaik urged Naveen to address the Opposition’s allegations that “governance in Odisha has been hijacked by a section of the bureaucrats”, he even asked Sarangi to address the issue to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to The Indian Express.

The remarks made by Soumya Ranjan Patnaik sent shockwaves through the BJD, a party centered around Naveen Patnaik. Responding to the criticism, former MLA Anubhav Patnaik dismissed the party vice-president’s remarks as “typical blackmailing tactics” employed by the editor-politician.

Within the BJD, there is a growing divide on the issue, with some members raising concerns about the influence of bureaucrats, while others downplay the allegations and defend the Chief Minister’s choice of advisors. One senior BJD functionary criticized Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, suggesting that he had little to show for himself other than being the son-in-law of the late CM J B Patnaik.