Leader of Opposition in Odisha assembly and BJP leader Jaynarayan Mishra on Tuesday claimed that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had warned that President's rule will be imposed in the state if the assembly is dissolved early.
Mishra told reporters at the BJP office in Bhubaneswar that the warning was given by Shah during the one-on-one meeting with V K Pandiyan, who is the secretary (5T) to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, on August 5 during his two-day visit to Odisha.
”We don't have information about the topics they (Shah and Pandiyan) discussed. But I have information that during the meeting, Shah pulled up the 5T secretary as the Odisha government was planning to go for early assembly poll. Shah warned him that Centre will be compelled to impose President's rule if the ruling BJD dissolves the state assembly,” the BJP leader claimed.
Odisha holds simultaneous assembly and Lok Sabha polls.
Pandiyan, an IAS officer, has often been derided as a gumasta (agent) of Patnaik by the saffron party and its MP Aparajita Sarangi, who was herself a civil servant prior to joining politics, recently wrote to the personnel department saying he was violating the laid down code.
Mishra claimed that Shah knew very well about the "role" played by Pandiyan in the state.
The BJP has alleged often that Pandiyan by dint of his close proximity to the chief minister controls BJD as well as the government.
Reacting to Mishra's claim, BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said that the BJP leader is ignorant about what transpired on that day.
"When the Union home minister was visiting Odisha Mishra was under treatment in a hospital in Kolkata. So he is ignorant about what happened on that day," he added.
This was the first time that the alleged "closed door" meeting between Shah and Pandiyan was spoken about.
