Odisha BJP MLA sparks row with alleged remarks against BJD woman leader; Oppn demands apology

RULING BJP MLA Santosh Khatua on Thursday courted controversy after allegedly making ‘derogatory’ remarks against a prominent woman BJD leader, prompting a strong backlash and a demand for an apology from Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and the saffron party.

- PBD BUREAU/PTI

BJD's senior general secretary and spokesperson Lekhashree Samantasinghar has also drawn the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi by tagging a letter in her X post.

Khatua, a lawmaker from Nilgiri assembly constituency in Balasore district, in a statement to certain television channels allegedly made "derogatory" remarks on Samantasinghar's character.

"Dear Modi Ji @narendramo-di, Please listen to your MLA from Odisha talking about women politicians. This is true blood BJP neta giving true salute to women," she wrote.

"I know you have very competent and intelligent Odia officers in @PMOlIndia and Party. Please ask them to translate for you. After listening to it, we will see if you still have the motivation to talk about ‘naari ka samman' or ‘Operation Sindoor'."