NEW DELHI: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Monday staged a walkout from the Rajya Sabha, protesting purported disparaging remarks by BJP leader Nishikant Dubey against former Odisha Chief Minister Biju Patnaik.
Soon after the official listed papers were laid on the table, BJD leader Sasmit Patra rose to record a "serious protest against the disparaging, false and concocted statements made by MP Nishikant Dube against Biju Patnaik."
"He (Dubey) has called Biju Patnaik a CIA agent. This is the level to which the ruling party has fallen," he said.
"This is utterly shameful. Biju Janata Dal strongly opposes it and in protest we are walking out."
Patra had on Saturday (March 28, 2026) resigned from the Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT and Communications, protesting panel chairperson Nishikant Dubey's remarks.
Biju Patnaik, a two-time Chief Minister of Odisha (1961-63 and 1990-95) and the namesake of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), was a freedom fighter and aviator known for his role in daring missions, including flying to Jakarta in 1947 to rescue Indonesian independence leaders and participating in operations linked to the Battle of Stalingrad during World War II.