BJD delegation urges Odisha Guv to act against BJP MLA for remarks on Gandhi, women

Bhubaneswar, Dec 12 A delegation of the opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD), on Friday, met the Odisha Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati, seeking action against BJP Nilagiri MLA Santosh Khatua over his controversial remarks against Mahatma Gandhi in the House during the just-concluded Winter session of the state Assembly, as well as his alleged indecent behaviour toward women.

The BJD delegation, in its memorandum submitted to the Governor, also drew his attention to the alleged objectionable remarks made by Khatua against senior BJD leader Lekha Samantsinghar.

In the memorandum, Samantsinghar alleged that Khatua abused her before the media on July 2, 2025, in response to her press conference regarding the Nilagiri MLA's involvement in a wildlife poaching incident.

Later, Samantsinghar and the BJD raised the issue at different forums, including the police and the State Commission for Women, seeking action against Khatua for his indecent remarks, but to no avail.

The opposition BJD has also submitted a petition against Khatua to the Odisha Assembly Speaker, Surama Padhy, requesting her to refer the matter to the Ethics Committee.

"But unfortunately, all the above actions have fallen into deaf ears as of now since neither the State government, nor the Bharatiya Janata Party; neither the police nor the women's Commissions have taken any steps even to investigate the matter, let alone taking action against the misogynistic MLA. Rather, he is being paraded as a poster boy of the BJP and have been seen accompanying the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Ministers and BJP MPs in various programmes," Samanatsimghar said.

The BJD alleged that the silence and deliberate inaction of the police and administrative apparatus have emboldened the Nilagiri MLA so much that he could get the courage to abuse Gandhiji inside the state Assembly on December 4.

"In the above backdrop and since Khatua has no remorse regarding his actions, my sincere request to you is to call all the facts of the case in the matter from various authorities and expel MLA Khatua from the state Assembly so that it will be an exemplary action before the society. This will act as a deterrent for anyone who wants to take advantage of his elected position to harm society," Samantsinghar appealed to the Governor.

Apart from this, the BJD delegation also sought intervention of Governor Kambhampati to bring normalcy in Malkangiri district that witness widespread violence following the recovery of a 51-year-old tribal woman recently.

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