Bhubaneswar, March 30 BJD president Naveen Patnaik on Monday said that BJP MP Nishikant Dubey needs the attention of a "mental health professional" for making "outrageous" remarks against freedom fighter and former chief minister Biju Patnaik.
Condemning Dubey's remarks, the BJD chief said, "I believe the BJP MP needs some mental health professional's attention for saying such outrageous things," he told reporters outside the Assembly here.
Dubey, in a statement on March 27, had claimed that Biju Patnaik was the link between former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the CIA during the war against China in the 1960s.
"I am surprised to find the outrageous things that Dubey said about Biju Babu. I do not think that Nehru had set up an office next to his in Delhi, while Biju Babu was still the chief minister of Odisha, to carry out tactics and fight the Chinese," Patnaik said.
Looking back, he said, "I was very young at that time, about 13 years old, and I remember how furious Biju Babu was about the Chinese attack and how much he did to repel it."
Dubey's statement has created a stir across Odisha, with supporters of Biju Patnaik criticizing the BJP MP for dragging his name into the Chinese war episode.
"In his attempt to blame the Congress and Nehru, the BJP MP has mentioned the name of Biju Patnaik," a senior BJD leader said.
Meanwhile, BJD MP Sasmit Patra resigned from a parliamentary committee headed by Dubey over the latter's remarks.
At least four other MPs – Manas Mangaraj, Subhasish Khuntia, Muzibulla Khan and Niranjan Bishi – criticised the BJP MP and accused him of "insulting the pride of Odisha".
BJD senior vice-president Debi Prasad Mishra strongly condemned Dubey's statement and demanded an apology from the BJP MP for making such "insulting" remarks against a "patriot".