CM’s Delhi Bungalow For Administrative Convenience, Not Personal Comfort: BJP
The BJP said the Odisha government would pay a monthly rent of Rs 3,040 for the bungalow, which would serve not only as the Chief Minister’s residence during official visits to the national capital but also function as a temporary secretariat during his stay in Delhi.
Bhubaneswar: A couple of days after the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) questioned the rationale behind Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s decision to avail a government bungalow in New Delhi, the Odisha unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday asserted that there was nothing unusual or improper in the move, terming it essential for administrative efficiency and effective governance.
The BJP said the Odisha government would pay a monthly rent of Rs 3,040 for the bungalow, which would serve not only as the Chief Minister’s residence during official visits to the national capital but also function as a temporary secretariat during his stay in Delhi.
“Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi believes in simple living. The bungalow has not been taken for personal comfort but purely for administrative convenience,” BJP spokesperson Monoj Mohapatra said.
“Officials, industrialists, business leaders and visiting delegations can meet the Chief Minister there without logistical constraints, unlike the space limitations at Odisha Bhawan. This arrangement will also help the state government significantly cut down on hotel expenses incurred during official visits,” he added.
Mohapatra pointed out that several states, including Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Assam, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan, have already availed government bungalows in the national capital for similar purposes.
Responding to criticism over the deployment of one company of Odisha Police for the Chief Minister’s security in Delhi, the BJP spokesperson said the security cover was minimal compared to the arrangements during the previous regime.
“The number of security personnel deployed for Chief Minister Majhi is barely one-tenth of what was provided to former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik during his tenure from 2000 to 2024,” he said, adding sarcastically that it was “far less than the security provided to the former Chief Minister’s ‘chaprasi’.”
Mohapatra’s use of the term ‘chaprasi’ was widely viewed in political circles as an indirect reference to former bureaucrat V. Karthikeyan Pandian.
Earlier, on Sunday, the BJD had alleged that the decision to take a bungalow in Delhi reflected an attempt to run Odisha’s administration from the national capital.
“Delhi Police is among the most efficient forces in the country. Then why is public money being spent on deploying Odisha Police personnel in Delhi for the Chief Minister’s security?” BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty asked.
He further said that no such elaborate residential or security arrangements were made during the 24-year tenure of former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who was widely known for his austere lifestyle and had never sought a government bungalow in Delhi using state funds. Mohanty also questioned whether Chief Minister Majhi felt unsafe within the state due to alleged internal power struggles within the ruling BJP.
