BJD lodges complaint with CEO over Patnaik's flight clearance delay

Bhubaneswar, Nov 7 (PTI) The opposition BJD on Friday lodged a complaint with the ECI alleging that the clearance for party president Naveen Patnaik's helicopter to take off from Bhubaneswar Airport was deliberately delayed, which affected his campaigning in the Nuapada byelection.

In a petition submitted to Odisha's Chief Electoral Officer, the opposition party said, "We request your esteemed office to urgently intervene in the matter, investigate the circumstances surrounding the delay in helicopter clearance, and take all necessary steps to prevent further misuse of public authority for political advantage." A delegation of the BJD alleged that there was a grave violation of the Model Code of Conduct committed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which obstructed and deliberately delayed in granting helicopter clearance at Biju Patnaik International Airport.

"The itinerary for Patnaik’s visit was communicated in advance by the office of the Leader of Opposition to all relevant authorities, including the DEO & Collector, DG Police Odisha, SP Security, Airport Director, and Duty Officer, Air Traffic Control, well ahead on November 5," they said.

The BJD said that these actions of the central and state governments in this regard, particularly through control over vital public infrastructure such as airports, amount to political discrimination and unfair restriction on the free campaign rights of the Biju Janata Dal and its leader, Naveen Patnaik.

The opposition party also urged the CEO to ensure stringent adherence to the MCC and safeguard the equal rights of all parties to campaign freely and fairly.

Earlier in the day, the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) director Prasanna Pradhan, said that Patnaik's flight to Nuapada was delayed by around 25 minutes on Friday due to traffic clearance issues.

He claimed that the delay was due to the pilot of the flight had not submitted the required papers for availing clearance from the authorities.

The Congress has also lodged a complaint with the CEO alleging that the ruling BJP candidate Jay Dholakia used minor children, including minor girls, in the election campaign in Nuapada.

"It has come to our attention that minor children, including minor girls, are being deliberately used by Jay Dholakia and his party workers for election campaigning across various locations in the Nuapada Assembly Constituency," it said.

The Congress demanded immediate cognisance of the serious violation, strict action against Jay Dholakia and the BJP for the misuse of minor children in campaigning.

BJP leaders were not immediately available for comment on the allegations made by the BJD and the Congress. PTI AAM AAM RG