New Delhi, March 30 The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) staged a walkout from the Rajya Sabha on Monday, protesting alleged disparaging remarks made by BJP leader Nishikant Dubey against former Odisha Chief Minister Biju Patnaik.
Shortly after the official papers were laid on the table, BJD leader Sasmit Patra rose to register a "serious protest against the disparaging, false, and fabricated statements made by MP Nishikant Dubey against Biju Patnaik."
"He (Dubey) has called Biju Patnaik a CIA agent. This is the level to which the ruling party has fallen," he said. "This is utterly shameful. The Biju Janata Dal strongly opposes it, and in protest, we are walking out."
Patra had resigned from the Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT and Communications on Saturday (March 28, 2026), protesting the remarks made by panel chairperson Nishikant Dubey.
Biju Patnaik, a two-time Chief Minister of Odisha (1961-63 and 1990-95) and the namesake of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), was a freedom fighter and aviator known for his role in daring missions, including flying to Jakarta in 1947 to rescue Indonesian independence leaders and participating in operations linked to the Battle of Stalingrad during World War II.