'Biju babu will remain a great statesman': Nishikant Dubey apologises for 'CIA link' remarks on former Odisha CM

New Delhi: BJP MP Nishikant Dubey on Wednesday tendered an unconditional apology for his claim that former Odisha chief minister Biju Patnaik was a link between prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the CIA during the 1962 war with China, after the remark triggered a sharp backlash from within and outside his own party.

Posting on X, Dubey said, “Last week, while speaking to the media, an incorrect interpretation was drawn from my remarks regarding the Nehru-Gandhi family’s exploits, specifically in reference to the honourable Shri Biju Patnaik ji, a former Chief Minister and one of India’s leading leaders.”

“My thoughts on Nehru ji were misconstrued as being about Biju Babu. Biju Babu has always been and will remain a towering statesman for us. If my statement has hurt anyone’s sentiments, I unconditionally apologise,” he added.

In his original remarks, made on March 27, Nishikant had alleged that Biju Patnaik acted as an intermediary between the US government, the CIA, and Nehru, and that Patnaik was entrusted with sensitive defence-related responsibilities and was in communication with American officials.

The apology came after the controversy refused to die despite a clarification issued on Tuesday, and amid reported displeasure from the BJP’s central leadership. Nishikant faced a backlash from the BJD as well as his own party colleague Baijayant Panda, whose family had close ties with Patnaik. Panda, who hails from Odisha, started his career in the BJD and joined the BJP in 2019.

Panda described Biju Patnaik as “a towering personality, not just Odisha’s tallest leader of his era, but among the leading lights of the nation,” and said that “casting aspersions on his patriotism is fantastical and patently ludicrous. Such attacks on him are unworthy, uninformed, and totally unacceptable.”

BJD president, former Odisha chief minister and Patnaik’s son Naveen Patnaik said Dubey should seek counselling from a “mental doctor” for what he called “outrageous” remarks. “I think the BJP MP needs some mental doctor’s attention for saying these outrageous things,” he told reporters.

BJD Rajya Sabha MP Sasmit Patra resigned from the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and IT headed by Dubey. “I cannot, in good conscience, continue to serve under someone who makes such disrespectful remarks about a national icon,” Patra said.

The Odisha government also distanced itself from the remarks, with Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan calling Dubey’s comments “entirely his personal opinion” and saying they were not reflective of the state government’s stance.