BHUBANESWAR: The BJD on Friday sought the intervention of the chief electoral officer (CEO) for the delay in giving clearance to the helicopter at Biju Patnaik International Airport here, in which party president Naveen Patnaik was to leave for Khariar Road to campaign for Nuapada by-election.
In a memorandum to CEO RS Gopalan, a delegation of BJD leaders alleged that Naveen’s pre-scheduled campaign visit to Nuapada on the day was obstructed due to an ‘undue and deliberate’ delay in granting helicopter at the airport.
It stated that the itinerary of the visit was communicated in advance by the office of the leader of the Opposition to all relevant authorities including the district election office and collector, director general of police, director, Airport and duty officer of the air traffic control well ahead of November 5.
The BJD leaders further alleged that the delay was deliberately orchestrated through misuse of government machinery under direct influence of BJP, which constituted a serious breach of the model code of conduct and undermined the principles of a level playing field for all political parties.
“The action of the central and the state governments in this regard, particularly through control of vital public infrastructure such as airports, amount to political discrimination and unfair restriction on the free campaign rights of BJD and its leader Naveen Patnaik,” they added.
The memorandum stated that despite repeated complaints by the BJD regarding misuse of government machinery in Nuapada, effective corrective measures had not been taken and the administration continues to target the party at the behest of BJP. It further urged the CEO to safeguard equal rights of all parties to campaign freely and fairly.