New Delhi, March 30 The BJP on Monday sought to distance itself from party MP Nishikant Dubey's remarks on Biju Patnaik, with senior leader Baijayant Jay Panda saying that the late leader was a towering figure and any criticism of his patriotism is "completely unacceptable".
Dubey, in a statement on March 27, had claimed that Patnaik acted as a link between former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the CIA during the war against China in the 1960s.
Amidst the controversy, BJP national vice president Panda said on X, "Biju uncle was a towering figure, not just the tallest leader of Odisha in his era, but one of the leading figures of the nation. Most importantly, he was one of the greatest patriots of modern Bharat."
"National pride burned deeply within him, and he dedicated his life to liberating India and uplifting Odisha. He did so as a pilot, industrialist, political leader, and global troubleshooter. His heroic missions, diplomatic and defense initiatives all contributed to strengthening our fledgling republic," he said.
"Attributing such criticism to his patriotism is fantastical and patently absurd. Such attacks on him are unworthy, uninformed, and completely unacceptable," Panda, the BJP MP from Odisha's Kendrapara Lok Sabha constituency, added, without naming Dubey.
The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Monday staged a walkout from the Rajya Sabha, protesting alleged disparaging remarks by Dubey against Biju Patnaik.
Reacting sharply to Dubey's remarks, BJD president Naveen Patnaik on Monday said the BJP MP needs to consult a "mental doctor" for making "outrageous" remarks against the freedom fighter and former Odisha chief minister.
Meanwhile, Dubey refuted allegations that he disrespected Biju Patnaik, asserting that he always held the former Odisha chief minister in high regard, as political leaders from the state hit back at the MP.
"There has never been any lack of respect for Biju Patnaik. When the Congress treated Biju Babu unjustly, it was the Jana Sangh and the Bharatiya Janata Party that stood by him."
"What I said that day, and what I repeat again today, is that I am running a continuous series exposing the deeds of the Nehru-Gandhi family and the Congress," the BJP MP told reporters in the Parliament House complex on Monday.