Odisha Congress to Visit Kotia on October 27, Oppose Andhra Pradesh’s Panchayat Polls

Paperman Media । Bhubaneswar, October 24

The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC), led by its president Bhakta Charan Das, will visit Kotia in the Pottangi Assembly constituency of Koraput district on October 27 to protest against Andhra Pradesh’s move to conduct panchayat elections in the region.

According to the OPCC, the party has repeatedly condemned Andhra Pradesh’s actions in Kotia, an area of Odisha, and criticised the Odisha government for allegedly failing to take adequate legal and administrative measures to protect the state’s territorial integrity.

The Congress alleged that the BJP government in Odisha, despite coming to power promising to safeguard the state’s identity and interests, had not taken sufficiently effective steps in coordination with the Union Government to address the issue.

The party described Andhra Pradesh’s proposed electoral exercise as a challenge to Odisha’s territorial rights and said it would not tolerate what it considers a violation of constitutional provisions.

On Tuesday, October 27, a delegation of Odisha Congress leaders will visit Kotia to oppose Andhra Pradesh’s intervention and call for a movement against the proposed panchayat elections in the area.

Teams from the PCC’s mass media and social media departments will accompany the delegation to document the visit and publicise the party’s position.

The delegation is expected to include PCC president Bhakta Charan Das, Congress Legislature Party leader Ramachandra Kadam, Koraput MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, Jeypore MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati, Laxmipur MLA Pabitra Saunta, Rayagada MLA Kadraka Appalaswamy, Gunupur MLA Satyajit Gomango, and Odisha Pradesh Mahila Congress president Minakshi Bahinipati.

The visit is expected to renew political attention on the longstanding Odisha–Andhra Pradesh border dispute in Kotia.