States » EastPosted at: Oct 20 2026 6:22PM


BJP’s silence on Kotia a betrayal of Odisha’s territorial integrity: BJD

Bhubaneswar, Oct 20 (UNI) The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Tuesday accused the BJP-led Odisha government of betraying the state’s territorial integrity through its alleged silence over Andhra Pradesh’s move to hold panchayat elections in the disputed Kotia region.
The reaction came after former Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik wrote a letter highlighting the state government’s silence on the Kotia issue. BJD media coordinator Lenin Mohanty launched a scathing attack on the BJP government, accusing it of failing to protect Odisha’s territorial interests for political convenience.
Mohanty said the people of Kotia had received sustained attention through planned development initiatives during the more than two decades of BJD rule under Patnaik, which strengthened Odisha’s administrative presence in the region and improved the daily lives of its residents.
Between 2000 and 2024, the state government invested substantially in road connectivity, linking Kotia with Kunduli, Doliamaba-Naringipadar, Deomali and other interior areas. These projects helped connect remote tribal villages that had remained isolated, he said.
Educational infrastructure was expanded through the establishment of an Odisha Adarsha Vidyalaya, tribal boys’ and girls’ hostels, Anganwadi centres and school buildings. Free bus services were also provided to facilitate students’ access to education.
Healthcare facilities were strengthened through a 10-bed hospital, upgraded sub-centres and mobile medical units. A police station was established, while electricity, drinking water supply and mobile connectivity were improved. Hundreds of families received houses under the Biju Pucca Ghar Yojana, Mohanty said.
Livelihood initiatives promoted strawberry cultivation, commercialisation of traditional Kotia brooms and animal husbandry. Welfare schemes, pensions and ration benefits were regularly extended to residents, while Odia language and culture, including festivals such as Rath Yatra, were actively promoted.
More than Rs 108 crore had been spent on these initiatives by 2024, Mohanty claimed, asserting that the BJD had treated Kotia not merely as a disputed border region but as an integral part of Odisha, whose residents were entitled to the same dignity and public services as other citizens of the state.
Mohanty alleged that the BJP government, which assumed office in June 2024, had failed to protect the territorial interests it had strongly championed before the elections.
BJP leaders had repeatedly promised that a “double-engine” government would permanently resolve the Kotia dispute, restore Odia pride and end Andhra Pradesh’s alleged interference in the region under the slogan “Go Back Andhra”, he said.
“Twenty-eight months later, those promises appear to have been reduced to an electoral spectacle,” Mohanty alleged.
He said Andhra Pradesh, governed by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), a key BJP ally at the Centre, had again initiated steps to hold panchayat elections in disputed villages such as Phagunsineri, Ganjeipadar and Phatusineri.
Election notifications had been issued and preparations were underway, which the BJD claimed amounted to a violation of the status quo maintained under Supreme Court orders.
Despite the BJP being in power in both Odisha and at the Centre, and its alliance with the ruling party in Andhra Pradesh, the state government had remained largely silent and ineffective on the issue, Mohanty alleged.
He also questioned the outcome of a 16-member high-level committee constituted by the Odisha government in 2025, saying people were still awaiting its recommendations and details of concrete action taken on them.
The BJD alleged that limited development announcements could not compensate for the government's failure to protect the state's territorial integrity, which it said had been subordinated to the political convenience of the BJP-TDP alliance.
Maintaining that Kotia belonged to Odisha and must be protected without compromise, Mohanty said the region comprised 28 villages, of which 21 were disputed.
The dispute had been pending before the Supreme Court since 1968, and Odisha had filed a fresh case in January 2022 to defend its claim, he said.
No neighbouring state, the BJD argued, had the right to conduct elections or extend administrative control in the disputed territory in violation of the judicially mandated status quo.
The party demanded that the Odisha government immediately prevent any electoral activity by Andhra Pradesh in the disputed villages, take all necessary legal steps before the Supreme Court, and make public the complete recommendations of the Kotia committee constituted in 2025 along with the action taken on them.
It also called on the government to stop subordinating Odisha’s territorial interests to political considerations arising from its alliance with the TDP.
“The people of Kotia and Odisha will not accept any compromise on the state’s territorial integrity,” Mohanty said, asserting that Kotia belonged to Odisha, its residents were Odias, and the BJD would defend their rights firmly and unequivocally.
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