CM’s official bungalow taken in Delhi is for administrative convenience, not for comfort, says BJP
By Nalini Sahu
Bhubaneswar, Dec. 17: A couple of days after the BJD questioned rationale behind Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s decision to take a government bungalow in New Delhi, the Odisha state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday said there was nothing wrong in the CM opting for a dedicated house in Delhi for better governance purposes.
The party contended that the Odisha government has to pay a monthly house rent of Rs 3,040 for the bungalow which will not only be used for the CM’s stay in Delhi during his official trips, but also run his secretariat from the place during the sojourn.
“Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi believes in simple living. The Delhi bungalow has been taken not for his comfort stay but also for administrative conveniences. Officials, industrialists and business tycoons and delegates visiting him during his trip to the national capital can have seamless interactions there, instead of the space-crunch Odisha Bhawan. The government can save a lot of money which is at current being spent on hotel bill payments,” said Mohapatra.
Currently, — Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Assam, Maharashtra, Uttarkhand, Rajasthan have availed government bungalows in Delhi.
On deployment of one company of Odisha police for the CM’s security in Delhi, the BJP spokesperson sarcastically said, “It is far less than the number of security personnel who were engaged for former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s ‘chaprasi. Our CM does not require a huge contingent of security personnel. Now, the number of the security personnel deployed for Mohan Charan Majhi is just one-tenth of the security personnel deployed for Naveen Patnaik during his stint as CM of Odisha from 2000 to 2024.”
Mohapatra’s word ‘chaprasi was viewed in political circles as an indirect dig at V Karthikeyan Pandian.
On Sunday, the BJD had alleged that the move indicated an attempt to run Odisha’s administration from the national capital.
“Delhi police is considered among the most efficient forces in the country. Then, why is the chief minister not relying on it and instead spending public money on deploying Odisha police in Delhi?” BJD spokespersonh Lenin Mohanty asked.
He said such elaborate residential and security arrangements were never made during the 24-year tenure of former CM Naveen Patnaik, who was known for his austere lifestyle and never sought a bungalow in Delhi using state funds. He also sought to know if the CM Majhi was feeling unsafe in the state because of internal power struggles within the ruling BJP.
