VK Pandian Helicopter Ride: There was a time in Odisha when VK Pandian was considered the successor of Naveen Patnaik. But the election results changed all the equations. BJD faced a crushing defeat in Odisha and Naveen Patnaik had to leave the seat. VK Pandian is Naveen Patnaik's right hand man. But now everything has changed with time. Former IAS VK Pandian, who entered politics after taking VRS, now seems to be in trouble. Serious allegations have been leveled against VK Pandian, who is considered the right hand of Naveen Patnaik. He has come under criticism for using helicopter and helipad. Now an investigation has started against him.
First, Odisha's Commerce and Transport Minister Bibhuti Bhushan Jena talked about investigating VK Pandian's helicopter trips. And now Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan said on Sunday that the government will investigate how 450 helipads were built to land the helicopter of bureaucrat-turned-politician Pandian. Let us tell you that VK Pandian was a secretary in the Naveen Patnaik government at that time.
which will be investigated
According to a report, Law Minister Harichandan said, “We will investigate who paid for the helicopter ride.” This should be clear. It needs a thorough investigation.' At the government level, helipads were built wherever the helicopters landed and government money was used for this. Pandian visited 400-450 places. It is not clear who approved this and how? If a departmental secretary does not have the right to use a helicopter, then how did he get this permission?
What did the minister reveal?
Minister Harichandan further said that the BJP government will include everything in this investigation. Talking to reporters, he said that after the investigation is completed, we will consider the appropriate punishment. In fact, Pandian, a close aide of Naveen Patnaik in the BJD i.e. Biju Janata Dal government, took a helicopter ride between February and September last year to meet people and know their opinion. The minister said that we will investigate who bore the expenses for this. Let us tell you that during the BJP government, Pandian met the public by boarding a helicopter from February to September last year.
Pandian gets into trouble
Earlier, a group of RTI activists of Odisha Right to Information Campaign had staged a protest against Pandian on July 24. They alleged that Pandian misused helicopters and chartered flights. Pandian took VRS from IAS in October and joined BJD the very next month. He campaigned vigorously for the party in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. The BJD has rejected the allegations of the ministers demanding an inquiry into the helicopter trip.