BHUBANESWAR: A fresh controversy has erupted in the state over the ‘Biju Naveen Inspirational Foundation’ with BJP alleging concealment of facts in the election affidavit of BJD’s Rajya Sabha nominee Santrupt Misra.
Raising the issue a day before the Rajya Sabha elections, BJP spokesperson Anil Biswal questioned if Misra had mentioned about the foundation in his election affidavit.
According to Biswal, Misra, as secretary of the foundation, has deliberately concealed his association with the body registered in New Delhi on May 9, 2025. He referred to provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, particularly Section 125A, which deals with furnishing false information or concealing material facts in election affidavits.
He said the law prescribes penalties, including imprisonment of up to six months, for submitting incorrect or incomplete information in nomination documents. The nomination can be rejected or the matter can be challenged in court even after his election to the Upper House.
In response to Biswal’s allegation, BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty in an X post said, “We are winning and the BJP is getting desperate. As a result, it is pushing a flop, false and fake narrative. BJD has nothing to do with any trust.”
Sharing the registration document of the foundation on social media, expelled BJD leader Shreemayee Mishra alleged that the formation of the foundation surreptitiously was a larger plan to take control of the party’s assets and funds through the organisation.
As per the purported document, V Karthikeya Pandian, former IAS officer and close confidant of BJD president Naveen Patnaik, is the president of the trust and senior lawyer and former advocate general Ashok Kumar Parija is a trustee.