Nishikant Dubey’s ‘CIA’ Remark on Biju Patnaik Sparks Row, Modi Moves to Contain Damage

He is a veteran Parliamentarian who opens all the debates from the Treasury bench side. So, it was surprising to see this senior BJP leader, a four-time MP Nishikant Dubey stir a controversy by calling Biju Patnaik, a CIA agent. Dubey is not a loose cannon and this is why clued-in political analysts say it could be BJP’s strategy to assess Odia’s icon Biju Patnaik popularity today.  It did backfire with people from within BJP taking strong exceptions to Dubey’s loose remarks. Some BJD leaders walked out of the Parliament to register their protest. Seeing the backlash, Dubey apologised on X saying  “My thoughts on Nehruji were misconstrued as being about Biju Babu,” It is learnt that PM Modi has intervened to douse the fire. He wrote to Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi praising Biju babu as a symbol of Odisha’s strength and pride having commitment to nation building. Interpreting Modi’s recent praise for Biju babu,  Odia’s are asking will Modi ever confer Bharat Ratna status to the late Biju Patnaik or is this just lip service praise to bring the temperature down?