Amid the publicity battle between the State’s ruling BJD and opposition BJP reaching its peak ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Odisha in the weekend, a writ petition was filed in the Orissa High Court on Monday seeking the court’s intervention to remove Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s photographs from the Government hoardings, advertisements, leaflets and various other utility cards provided to the citizens by the Government of India.
The petitioner Nabadiganta, a city-based NGO, has also urged the High Court to direct the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and the Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) to investigate and find out as to from which source the BJD is getting the resources for the publicity blitzkrieg of its president Patnaik in schemes and policies run by the Central Government.
The petition annexing a copy of a ration card under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) downloaded from internet alleges that the photograph of Naveen Patnaik appears in it although the scheme is run by the Central Government.
Similarly, the billboards of various other Central schemes also carry life-size photographs of the Chief Minister, which violates the Supreme Court guideline of May 13, 2015, said the petitioner’s advocate PK Parhi. The petition is likely to come for adjudication soon, he informed.