StatesOdisha
Naveen Patnaik urges Majhi to take up Kotia at 'highest level' before Andhra polls
The Leader of Opposition wrote to the Odisha Chief Minister on Wednesday, a day before Andhra Pradesh holds elections in the disputed cluster of villages.
Key points
- Naveen Patnaik asked Mohan Charan Majhi to raise Kotia with the Centre and Andhra Pradesh.
- He called Andhra's decision to hold elections in Kotia on 5 November a serious concern.
- It is his second letter in about two weeks, after one on 19 October.
Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday urged Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to take up the Kotia dispute “at the highest level” with the Union government and Andhra Pradesh, a day before Andhra holds elections in the contested area.
In a letter dated 4 November, the Biju Janata Dal chief said he was concerned about “the growing tension between officials of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh”. Andhra’s decision to go ahead with elections in Kotia on 5 November was “a matter of serious concern” for Odisha, he wrote.
A second letter
Naveen had written to Majhi on the same subject on 19 October and received a reply on 27 October. Since then, he said, the situation had “further deteriorated”, with reports of rising tension and confrontation between officials of the two states.
He pointed out that both Odisha and Andhra Pradesh are now ruled by parties of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. “Urgent steps must be taken to protect Odisha’s territorial integrity, as promised in the BJP’s 2024 election manifesto,” he wrote, adding that the Chief Minister “has a moral responsibility to protect the state’s legitimate interests and ensure that the situation does not escalate further.”
Neither the Chief Minister’s office nor the Andhra Pradesh government had responded to the letter by Wednesday evening.